Fixing the Future
by Akozu Heiwa
Summary: Fifteen year old James Potter's world came crashing down around him when his best friend is murdered right in front of him. The Wizarding World has fallen into chaos. Now, he and his girlfriend, Lily, travel two years back in time to prevent the awful future from ever happening. But can they really do it, or was the future doomed from the start? AU
1. Chapter 1

"_No! No!" It was raining. I tightened his grip on a broken boy, my best friend, holding his hand like it was my own lifeline. "Hang on, please hang on."_

"_S'cold," he murmured, blinking deliriously at the rain. "It hurts, Jamie…"_

"_I know it does, I know, but hang in there," I insisted. He looked up at me.. Grey eyes met brown ones, and a small smile appeared on the broken boy's face. "Please hold on."_

"_You'll be okay?" It sounded like a question, but I couldn't be sure, and my friend seemed delirious from pain anyways. My heart clenched at the steady stream of blood flowing from his friend's mouth among other places, forming a pool of it around us. I could feel the warm liquid seeping through my jeans. "I'm sorry, Jamie…"_

"_There's nothing to be sorry for," My heart was breaking at his pain. "Just hang on, help will be here soon."_

"_You're the best brother I could ask for," he smiled slightly, looking at me blearily. "Thank you."_

_He let out a breath._

_And didn't take another._

_An unearthly scream of sorrow filled the air, as grey eyes stared unseeingly into the storm._

* * *

"You understand what you must do?"

"Yes, sir."

My name is James Potter. I'm fifteen years old, and I'm a pretty messed up kid. I was perfectly normal before the attack that took my best friend's life. But, then, you'd be pretty messed up too if someone brutally murdered your best friend in front of you.

My whole world started crashing down around me when I was thirteen. My girlfriend's family was murdered in one of the increasing attacks that had been going on. She wasn't my girlfriend at that point, but she became so soon after. She came to live with me and my parents. They loved Lily like their own daughter. The next year, my house was burnt to the ground. My parents had to start working overtime at their jobs, and I rarely see them anymore, not for more than an hour. My best friend ran away from home that summer. All three of us moved in with another friend.

Until the attack on Hogsmeade. That was the day that my best friend died, tortured to death right in front of me. It was terrible, horrible, and it completely scarred me. That was their plan; he got the physical torture, I got the psychological.

I've never been the same since. I don't talk to many people anymore. I talk to Lily and my two remaining best friends, and that's about it. I'm closed off to the world, even my parents, who are never there anymore, anyways.

I'm going to change the future. Fix it, you could say. Things have gone pretty downhill since the attack on Hogsmeade. People have lost hope that Voldemort could ever be defeated, even by Dumbledore. After all, a student died right under his nose. He's sending me and Lily back. Dumbledore thinks that if we can start to prevent the attacks, by warning him ahead of time, perhaps the Death Eaters wouldn't grow strong enough to attack Hogsmeade. Maybe all the tragedies could be avoided.

"Are you sure you want to do this, James, Lily?" Dumbledore asked, gazing at me over us half-moon spectacles. Lily nodded determinedly. I stared hard at him, closed off as always. "Very well. Take this," he handed us a note, "to my past self. Good luck, you two."

Lily smiled slightly, nodded again, and activated the device Dumbledore had given us.

_Please,_ I thought, _Please let this work._

A flash of light, and we were gone.

**A/N: Hullo! A new story! This plot bunny hit me like a train, and I just had to write it. A lot darker than usual, definitely a high T. Can you guess who died? It's actually pretty easy, assuming you know the Marauders' eye colors. Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are very much appreciated! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

"James! James- c'mon, you sleep like a rock!" I groaned, and pulled the covers tighter over my head. That voice was all too familiar, it sounded like… but that was impossible. "James! Prongs, honestly!"

"Padfoot, give it a rest," Suddenly, my eyes shot open. Padfoot. Time travel. I was in the past. I shot up to stare into grey eyes. Sirius grinned at me, and leaned back, displaying a bucket of water.

"I wasn't actually going to pour it on you," Sirius declared, handing the bucket to Remus, who was standing back with Peter and snickering. "I knew you'd get up. Hey, you alright, mate? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Y-yeah," I said shakily, staring at Sirius with wide eyes. "Good morning, S-sirius."

"Give him a rest, Sirius," Remus chuckled. "He probably had a nightmare. You know James, he sometimes has a hard time discerning dreams from reality."

"Y-yes, exactly," I nodded, shaking my head. I hadn't seen Sirius since his own funeral, and, even then, I hadn't seen him alive in over four months. "Sorry, Padfoot."

"It's fine," Sirius replied happily, waving his hand. "Do you wanna talk about your nightmare?"

"No," I said bluntly. I couldn't not think about that day. The last time I'd seen Sirius alive he was so un-Sirius-like, so weak and broken… "No, I'd rather not."

"It's okay, James," Peter smiled. "We all have nightmares. I once had one where a crazy demon dog toy chased me around London."

I blinked, and gave Peter an odd look. He blushed.

"Right," he muttered, still red. "Not to self, weird dreams are not to be shared."

"Let's go down to breakfast," Remus suggested. I nodded again, and quickly went to get changed into my clothes. We walked to the Great Hall in silence, and I kept glancing at Sirius as if to make sure he was still there. He caught my glance once, and looked at me questioningly. I flushed, and looked down, because I couldn't look at those grey eyes without remembering them so dull and lifeless.

Once we reached the Great Hall, I sat down next to Lily, who jolted a little when Sirius sat beside me. She grabbed my hand under the table, and gave me a welcoming and questioning smile.

"Good morning, Lils," I murmured, squeezing her hand. "Slept well?"

"I definitely feel younger," she joked, grinning at me, before her expression turned serious. "What about you? How are you coping with seeing him again?"

"I'm not," I said honestly. "I can't not remember what happened."

"I know, sweetheart," she said soothingly. Then she noticed Remus, Peter, and… Sirius looking at us strangely. "Hello, boys."

"Evans! Since when do you talk to Prongs?" Sirius exclaimed, looking quite surprised. Lily froze, blushed, and mouthed 'help me' at me.

"I snuck out last night without telling you," I lied easily. "I met Lily in the corridors, and we talked, and she finally said yes."

"Hmm…" Remus didn't look convinced. It was hard to fool him, as I'd learned after nearly two years of living with him. "Alright, then. Hello, Lily."

"Hello, Remus," Lily smiled. "Sirius, do shut your mouth, you'll catch flies."

Sirius immediately shut his mouth.

"James, who exactly are you seeing again?" Remus asked suddenly. James cursed under his breath. Stupid werewolf hearing. "And why aren't you coping?"

"Oh, what?" I asked, playing dumb. "I don't know what you're talking about, Moony."

Remus narrowed his eyes, but let the matter slide.

"So, Prongs, you ready to face McGonagall's wrath? Your detention is this morning," Sirius grinned cheekily, laughing. James shrugged, having no idea what the date even was. "Wonder what she'll make you do?"

"Write lines," James replied automatically, trying to fall back into the easy banter and conversation he and Sirius would exchange. It was difficult to do so, what with every glance at him leading to painful memories of a broken body and lifeless eyes.

"James, what did you do this time?" Lily sighed, rolling her eyes. But there was a smile on her face, which meant she was thinking of the same thing he was, of the times when detentions were their only worries and all their friends and family were alive and with them.

"I have no idea," I replied, chuckling. "Sirius, what'd I do?"

"Turned every desk in the classroom into a pig," Sirius answered happily. "How could you forget that? It was brilliant!"

James didn't remember much from third year; most of his memories of that year included Sirius, and memories of Sirius made his heart hurt.

"James has more important things to think about than pranks," Lily said primly. She fished a letter out of her cloak, and handed it to me. "Make sure this gets to Dumbledore."

"I will," I replied.

* * *

The rest of breakfast passed with nothing more than amiable chatter. It was strange, suddenly. I expected things to just go back to normal, but now I felt all awkward near Sirius. You try talking to your dead best friend. It's awkward.

Lily was easing into things better, but she was anxious to talk to her parents again. I knew how she felt. Just to spend a whole day with my Mum and Dad would be nice. Remus's parents were great and all, but there's just this gap no one can fill when your own parents don't talk to you.

I'd subconsciously put up my mask when I walked into McGonagall's office. I didn't let any emotion show, which was probably strange for thirteen year old me, but not for fifteen year old me. I was always closed off.

"Mr. Potter, I presume you know why you're here?" McGonangall had asked. I'd nodded tightly, and she looked at me weird. "Mr. Potter, are you alright?"

"Fine," I said, as usual. "Just fine."

After the detention, I told her I needed to speak with Dumbledore. She'd brought me to his office, still glancing oddly at me every now and then. So, now, here I was, walking into Dumbledore's office, a note in my hand, and completely prepared to tell my story.

"Hello, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore smiled warmly, eyes twinkling bright. "What have you done this time?"

"Time travelled, sir," I said honestly. This wasn't what he was expecting, and he sat up a little straighter. "Here. This is a note from your future self. It should, hopefully, explain everything, because I think if I tried I'd end up sobbing."

Dumbledore read the note silently, before looking at me with wide eyes. "Is it true? Mr. Black… is he really…?"

"Yes," I said bluntly. "Yes, he is. I'm sure. I saw it happened. He died," my voice cracked, "he died in my arms, Professor. Just like that, gone."

"I see," Dumbledore said sadly, the twinkle in his eyes gone. He looked every year his age. "I'm very sorry, James. I trust you're here to fix the future, then?"

"Absolutely," I replied. "Don't try and stop me. I failed Sirius once, I won't do it again. You saw the part about Lily's parents? The attack is," I glanced at the calendar, "two weeks from now. I expect wards up, false trails laid, and Aurors ready. Lily and I are ready to help, if need be. After Siri- he died, we started learning a lot of Defensive magic. We'd be able to hold our own in battle now."

"I don't think that will be necessary," Dumbledore smiled tiredly. "We will be sure to start preventing attacks. Do you have any others?"

"A week after the Evans murder, the McKinnon estate is burnt to the ground. Two weeks after that, there's an attack on a Muggle village somewhere in Devon. Two days later, Diagon Alley is attacked," I listed dully. "The list goes on and on. It gets worse after the Attack on Hogsmeade. I have it written down."

I fished a crumpled piece of parchment out of my robes. I was actually surprised it was there. I handed it to Dumbledore, who read it and paled.

"Not pretty, is it?" I frowned. "Voldemort's crazy, that's for sure, and so are his followers. Sirius's own cousin, Bellatrix, took part in his… in his murder. She's already a Death Eater at this point. You can go on and arrest her."

"It was very noble of you to do this, James," Dumbledore said. I gave him a skeptical look. "For one who has lost so much, you are strong. You could have chosen many paths. To move on, get on with your life. To give up, stop trying. Instead, you chose to risk your own future and come back to save your best friend's. That, in itself, is more noble than I could ever hope to be."

"You would have done the same," I replied. "For one of your closest friends, or siblings. I know you would have."

"No," Dumbledore sighed, looking down. A single tear trickled down his cheek and into his beard. "I would not have."

**A/N: Hello all! An update! Poor Dumbledore. Can anyone guess what he's thinking about? ;) So, now, if you didn't already know, you know that Sirius is the one that died. Of course, James and Lily are trying to prevent that- but can they? Thank you to my reviewers: krikanalo, Loves to read books, N.E. Person, and a guest! Hope you all enjoyed! Reviews appreciated!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**


	3. Chapter 3

The first week in the past passed relatively smoothly. I was slowly, but surely, getting used to Sirius again. He was just as I remembered him, so it wasn't too hard. Except that I couldn't forget how he was when he died.

Another thing, I'd continued the habit of placing silencing charms around my bed. Nightmares were still a frequent, if not nightly occurrence. I didn't need the others waking up to me screaming 'I'm sorry' over and over.

Lily made the transition easily, chatting with Severus as if nothing had ever happened. I've been civil towards him too, because once me and Lily started dating we got on friendly terms. I also made sure to be polite to Regulus as well, who'd run away from home shortly after seeing how little his parents cared about his brother's death. He was a sweet boy, quieter than Sirius had ever been. He was no substitute for Padfoot, but we'd become friends in the last few months. He'd admitted to me that, besides Severus, he'd had no real friends in Slytherin. I sincerely hoped we'd all be friends again.

The only problem was Sirius. As much as I loved him, he could be a pretty big hypocrite at times. He'd go on and on about his parents' prejudices, but he was always completely blind about his own. All Slytherins are evil. All Gryffindors are saints. That sort of stuff. Not that I didn't have prejudices too. I've always thought that all Death Eaters were idiots, and now I'm convinced that most of them are heartless too. After all, no one with a heart would hurt anyone as much as they hurt Sirius.

Classes were excruciatingly easy. Still, Lily insisted it was good for us to get a brush up on all the third year junk we were learning. The teachers were all impressed with my sudden increase in skill and maturity. I don't think I'd've ever grown up had the Attack on Hogsmeade never happened.

Dumbledore had already stopped an attack. He'd gotten a Muggle family out of their house right before the Death Eaters showed up. Then, the Aurors stationed there arrested the Death Eaters. It was a miracle.

"Hey, James, you up for a prank on Snivellus?" Sirius asked eagerly. I glanced at him, and shook my head. "Why not?"

"Because Lily wants me to be nice," I replied nonchalantly. "So I'm trying to be nice. To your brother, too."

"Reggie? Why?"

"Because, he doesn't seem to have any friends," I rolled my eyes at Sirius's dumbfounded face. "Honestly, Sirius, you could stand to be a bit nicer to him. He still really looks up to you."

"Right," Sirius said dully, focusing on his food. "No, he's been corrupted by my parents. He doesn't look up to me. I wouldn't be surprised if he hated me."

"Now, Padfoot, who could hate Hogwarts's resident puppy?"

"I am _not_ a puppy!" Sirius exclaimed, before laughing and shoving me playfully. "You're one to talk. I heard Lily call you Bambi the other day!"

"Bambi," I scoffed. "She loves her Disney! I've told her, Bambi is a _baby_! I'm not a baby!"

"No, you certainly aren't," I turned, and smiled as Lily took a seat next to me. "I'm amazed, James. You're actually on time to Transfiguration."

"Transfiguration is my best class," I winked. Lily chuckled. "What?"

"I know that, _Prongs_," she giggled, poking me in the shoulder. "I should expect you to have an O in this class."

Sirius glanced between us, then turned to me and mouthed, 'Does she know?'

'Yes,' I mouthed back.

"Hello, Sirius," Lily smiled. "Looking mischievous as always, I see."

"Mischievous!? Me?" Sirius gasped theatrically. "Never!"

"Hmm, more like dramatic," I nodded. Sirius scowled good-naturedly at me. "It's true. Dramatic and too bloody noble for your own good."

I frowned suddenly, a flood of memories overtaking me.

"_No! Don't hurt him! Do whatever you want to me, but leave James alone!"_

"_Sirius! Don't!"_

"_Ooh, baby cousin! I might just take you up on that offer!"_

"_No!"_

"_Remember- fight back and the other one dies."_

"_Fine."_

"_Crucio!"_

"James! James, snap out of it!" I shook my head, to see Lily looking at me nervously, and Sirius looked about ready to run for Madam Pomfrey. Lily sighed when I smiled shakily at her. "Oh, thank goodness."

"Sorry," I mumbled, "flashback." I glanced at Sirius, and hit him half-heartedly on the shoulder. "Bloody noble git."

"Hey, what did I do!?" Sirius exclaimed defensively. Lily giggled only slightly, and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "What was your flashback about?"

"That's none of your business, Sirius Black, so you can keep to yourself," Lily reprimanded, speaking in the same motherly tone she'd used around Sirius ever since he'd run away.

"Yes, ma'am," Sirius replied. "Whatever you say, your majesty."

"Hmm," Lily narrowed her eyes, but said nothing.

"Smart move; don't argue with Lils," I nodded, chuckling half-heartedly, still trying to block the flashback from my mind. "It'll only make things worse for you."

"You would know," Lily grinned. "Wasn't it you mother that said we fight like an old married couple."

"Yes, it was," I smirked back. "Wasn't it you who turned bright red, stuttered a bunch, and ended up just yelling 'No!' and running out of the room?"

"Yes," Lily blushed. "I suppose it was," she sent me a pointed look. "But, if I recall, someone told me I'd make a good mother several months ago, before realizing what he said and dropping his yogurt down his front. Was that you, Mr. Potter?"

"Maybe," I replied, blushing as well. Sirius was laughing full out now, which made up for my mortal embarrassment, because I had missed that laugh.

"You two really _do_ act like an old married couple!" Sirius gasped between spurts of laughter. "Jamie, _already_ thinking about kids? What _would_ your mum say?"

"If I know Mrs. P, she'd say, 'Ooh, grandchildren! Now, Jamie, not now, but when you grow up I expect lots of grandkids to spoil and send back to you,'" Lily declared, beaming. "And then James would turn red, mutter incoherently, and drop whatever food he was holding into his lap."

"Oh, be quiet," I scowled, but I think I ruined it when my lips twitched up and I started giggling. No. Not giggling, because guys don't giggle. I started chuckling. _Manly _chuckles.

"Anyone care to tell me why it sounds like James swallowed a balloon?" Remus asked, sitting down across from me. I immediately closed my mouth and held my breath to stop giggling- no, _chuckling_! "Prongs, you're turning blue."

"Sorry," I muttered, blushing. "I didn't swallow a balloon."

"Nah," Sirius laughed. "He swallowed a chipmunk!"

I scowled, this time refraining from giggling- _**chuckling**_- any more. I was fifteen years old. I didn't giggle.

"Well, don't suffocate yourself to save your reputation, Mr. Giggles-Aren't-Manly," Lily smirked. I swear sometimes she can read my mind. "Anyways, how are you, Remus?"

"I'm good, Lily," Remus smiled. "And you?"

"Wonderful," Lily beamed, glancing at me. I snorted. "Oh, James! Honestly, I was just poking fun at you."

"I know you were, Lils," I _chuckled_. "But Moony doesn't. He wasn't here," Sirius opened his mouth, probably to repeat what Lily had said earlier. "And _don't_ say _anything_, Sirius!"

Sirius pouted.

"Well, I suppose since you won't tell me, I'm to guess it was rather embarrassing?" Remus grinned deviously. "So I should ask Lily or Sirius later?"

I groaned, and dropped my head onto the table. "Great. Just great."

* * *

_I looked around my unfamiliar surroundings. No. Wait. I knew this place._

"_Hullo, James," said a cold voice. I spun around to face the speaker. It was Sirius… except… it wasn't. He was covered in blood and his eyes were cold and dull. He walked towards me. "Surprised to see me? You should be. It was your fault I died."_

"_No," I exclaimed. "No. I tried, Sirius, I really did-"_

"_Of course you did," Sirius drawled lazily. "I suppose you didn't care enough to heal me, then?"_

"_Sirius, I- I didn't know how!" I cried. "I tried, I really did! Please, I didn't want-"_

"_Hmm, it's no wonder your parents can't stand you," I flinched. "They know what a no good, worthless scum you really are. Pity I didn't see it sooner."_

"_No, Sirius! Please, I tried," I exclaimed. Sirius sneered. "I tried…"_

"_You didn't try hard enough," he replied coldly. Suddenly, he started fading. I reached out to grab him, but my hand went straight through him. He was still looking at me with cold eyes as he disappeared._

_Suddenly, the area was filled with screams. Lily, Remus, Peter, and Regulus were all being tortured, much in the same manner Sirius had been._

"_James! Help us!" Lily cried. I tried to move, but couldn't. "James!"_

"_Please! Help!" Regulus shouted. _

"_James… up…"_

"_James, do something!" Remus yelled. "Can't you see we're in pain? Do something!"_

"_I can't!" I cried desperately. "I'm sorry, I can't!" _

"_C'mon, James, help us!" Peter whimpered._

"_Wake… James…"_

"_James!"_

"_Make it stop, James!"_

"_I'm sorry!"_

"_Do something, Jamie!"_

"_Wake up…"_

"_James! Please!"_

"_JAMES!"_

"_I'm sorry, please, I'm sorry!"_

"James! James, wake up!" I shot up in my bed, looking around wildly. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all huddled around me, looking quite worried. I sighed. Of course. Another nightmare.

My silencing charms! I forgot!

"James, are you okay?" Remus asked anxiously. I nodded. "You sure?"

"You're white and shaking, mate," Sirius said unsteadily. "Gave us a bit of a fright."

"You were yelling," Peter added. "You were saying you were sorry for something."

"It was just a nightmare, guys," I insisted. "No reason for alarm. It's normal."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Remus prompted. I shook my head, unconsciously glancing at Sirius. No blood. Bright eyes. Alive.

"No," I whispered. "I want to forget."

"Then," Peter started, looking innocently confused. "Why don't you?"

"You can't forget some things, Pete," I replied softly, glancing at Sirius again. "Sometimes that's a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing. And no matter how hard I try, I don't think I'll ever forget."

Peter nodded, seeming to understand. I doubt he did though. Remus was eying me suspiciously, also glancing towards Sirius with narrowed eyes. Sirius just gave me a sad smile.

"If you can't forget," he said after a moment. "Turn it into something positive. There's always a bright side, a silver lining. Think of it that way, okay?"

That was such a Sirius thing to say that I just stared at him blankly. He'd said something similar to me, right before… right before he died. I smiled at him, blinking back tears. Sirius, Remus, and Peter seemed to think the trouble was over, and headed back to bed. I closed my curtains, and put up silencing charms.

I cried myself back to sleep.

**A/N: Hullo! Thank you to krikanalo, Accalia Silvermoon, guest, N.E. Person, and potterhead934 for reviewing! Accalia Silvermoon and guest, you both guessed correctly! Free virtual cookies for you! **** Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Poor Jamie. This was mostly just a filler. Next chapter should have more action. **

**I still don't own Harry Potter. **


	4. Chapter 4

"It's today."

About a week had passed since my nightmare. I mean, the one they all caught. I still had nightmares most nights. Today was the day of the attack that took Lily's parent's lives in our timeline. Obviously, we were trying to prevent that. Lily and I had insisted that we go with the Aurors. Our excuse to Lily's family was that I wanted to meet Lily's sister and parents. The excuse to our friends and most of our teachers was that Lily's sister was sick and we wanted to go visit her. Dumbledore helped us with these. I'd've probably been more creative.

I was awoken by Lily shaking me madly and insisting we go eat, 'to keep up our strength'. So, letting the others sleep, we went down to breakfast. Which was where we were now.

"I know, Lils, you've said it about ten times now," I said, calmly eating more of my eggs. "Don't worry. We'll save them."

"I know, it's just… what if we don't? What if they die, and I'm right there?" Lily fretted, playing absentmindedly with her hair. I gave her a frown. She blushed. "Sorry, James. I guess I forgot about… about Sirius for a second. I didn't mean to-"

"I know, Lils," I smiled reassuringly, before staring at the wall blankly. "I won't let that happen. You don't know, and I don't ever want you to know, what it feels like to watch someone you love die. It's… it's the worst feeling in the world."

"Oh, James, I shouldn't have mentioned it," Lily said miserably. "Look at me. I'm fretting so much over this that I made you remember the worst day of your life…"

"It's fine, Lily," I laughed half-heartedly, putting an arm around her shoulders. "We'll fix that too."

"Yes, we will," Lily agreed. "But that doesn't change what you remember."

"No, it doesn't," I sighed. "I'll never forget that. But Sirius will be alive, and that's all that matters to me. It will fade, with time. At least, Dumbledore thinks so."

"Well, that's Dumbledore for you," Lily laughed. "Speaking of Sirius, here he comes now."

I spun around. Sure enough, Remus and Sirius were walking up to us. Sirius grinned, and plopped down next to me, while Remus sat down by Lily.

"Good morning, Prongs! You're up early!" Sirius declared. "Peter's still asleep, y'know."

"Even after all the racket that git made," Remus said sourly, jerking his thumb at Sirius. For the first time, I realized his hair was damp. "Bloody prat soaked me."

"You wouldn't get out of bed," Sirius explained defensively. "And Wormtail's _still_ asleep!"

"Well, that's Wormy for you," I chuckled, shaking my head. "Moony, you know Sirius. Get up the first time he asks, don't wait until he soaks you."

"You do that too, Prongs," Remus pointed out dryly. "I was surprised you didn't this morning. You were obviously up before us."

"Lily woke me," I replied. "We're going to see her sister today."

"Petunia?" Sirius wrinkled his nose up. "Isn't she that girl who called you a freak? Th one with her nose so high in the air, she looks about to fall over?"

"That's the one," Lily replied, rolling her eyes. "She really is a sweet girl."

"Yeah," I deadpanned. "Right… are we talking about the _same_ Petunia?"

"James," Lily chided. "I expect you to be nice."

"Nice. Well, I'll try," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "What do you think, Pads? Should I be nice to Petunia?"

"Hmm…" Sirius pretended to think for a moment, before turning back to me. "Nope! Not in the slightest."

* * *

"Lily! What a surprise!" Dumbledore had Apparated us to Lily's house, and left us to knock on the door. Mrs. Evans had answered. "And who's this- it can't be! Is that that James Potter boy? The one you ranted about all summer?"

"You ranted about me?" I asked, my lips quirking at Lily's red face. "Apparently. Good to know you talked about me as much as I talked about you."

"Yes, your mum told me," Lily teased. "Apparently you never shut up about me."

"Oh, shush," I replied, before smiling at Mrs. Evans and holding out my hand. "James Potter, Lily's boyfriend," I turned to Lily. "I love saying that!"

"I know you do," she chuckled, while her mother cooed and ushered us inside. "So, hey, Mum. Is Dad home?"

I could tell she was a lot more nervous than she let on. Lily hadn't seen her parents in over two years. At least I saw mine every now and then.

"He is, in fact," Mrs. Evans beamed. "SAMUEL! GET DOWN HERE! LILY'S HERE!"

"One minute!" came the faint reply. Mrs. Evans donned a devious smirk.

"WITH HER _BOYFRIEND_!"

There was a lot of loud thuds, like footsteps, and soon Mr. Evans had come racing into the room. His eyes immediately focused on me, and narrowed. I held out my hand politely.

"Hello, sir," I smiled. "I'm James Potter. Let me tell you, your daughter is the most magnificent girl I've ever met."

Mr. Evans's expression softened slightly, and he shook my hand.

"Nice to meet you, son," Mr. Evans said, in a booming voice, eyes twinkling. "Now, you treat my daughter right or I'll hunt you down with my pistol."

"Er… what's a pistol?" I asked hesitantly. Mr. Evans laughed jovially- he probably thought I was joking. "No, really. I have no clue what that is."

"Oh."

We spent a while chatting about this and that. Mr. Evans was slowly warming up to me.

"Mum, what time is it?" Lily asked. Mrs. Evans glanced at the clock.

"Half past three, dear," Lily paled. I probably did to. Ten minutes. "What's the matter?"

"We don't have time to set up wards!" Lily fretted. "Ooh, I should've given us more time!"

"Relax, Lils, we have the Portkeys," I smiled reassuringly, and pulled out three slips of paper. "Is Petunia here?"

"She's at school," said Mr. Evans, obviously confused. "Why?"

"Alright, each of you take one," I handed Lily's parents a Portkey. "In ten minutes, those things will activate and you'll be sent to Hogwarts. We aren't here just to catch up; there's a Death Eater attack. We have to get you out of here. There's Aurors stationed around the neighborhood. Don't panic."

The Evanses were staring at us nervously. Mr. Evans nodded. "And you two?"

"We're fighting, Dad," Lily declared. Both of her parents opened their mouths to protest. "No! We have to. The Death Eaters ruin people's lives. We have to stop them!"

Mrs. Evans raced forward and hugged Lily. "Oh, Lily, be careful!"

"I will be, Mum," Lily murmured. "You guys be safe."

We waited a few more minutes. We got the hint that the Portkeys had activated a second before Mr. and Mrs. Evans vanished, as they're faces morphed into something of surprise. Then they were gone. Lily let out a sigh of relief.

"How much longer do you think we have?" I asked, grabbing her hand. She squeezed mine. "Maybe five."

"No, three, I'd think," Lily replied uncertainly. "Be careful James. Don't get yourself killed out there."

"I won't, Lily," I smiled reassuringly. "Don't you worry."

There was a sudden shout.

"Death Eaters!" That was our cue. We ran outside, wands out, and started firing spells at our opponents. Aurors were fighting beside us. I recognized Alastor Moody and my dad. Moody nodded at me. Thankfully, my dad hadn't noticed. He'd have a fit, then tell Mum, who'd have an even bigger fit. I dodged a green beam of light and sent a stupefy in the direction it'd come from.

"Lily, on your right!" I exclaimed. Lily nodded, and turned to duel the Death Eater on her right. "Dad, look out behind you! _Stupefy!_"

I was glad I'd used the spell. Dad turned to face me, with a shocked look on his face, instead of taking my warning. "_Focus_, Dad! On your left! Lily, watch out for that Cruciatus!"

"Got it!" Lily ducked, and Dad fired an Expelliarmus towards his attacker. "James, behind you!"

I turned, not quick enough, and got hit with a nasty cutting curse. But it wasn't that bad, just a cut on my shoulder that Madam Pomfrey could fix in a snap.

"James, what the heck are you doing here?" Dad yelled. "You should be at Hogwarts, not fighting Death Eaters!"

"No, Dumbledore said I could- _levicorpus!-_ come!" I yelled back, hexing an approaching Death Eater. "Besides, I owe these gits good! Lily, duck!"

"Got it- _aguamenti!_" Lily replied, aiming her wand at the ground, making the Death Eater slip and fall on his face. "_Stupefy! Expelliarmus!_"

"Moody, on your right! Constant vigilance!" Dad barked at Moody, who nodded, and hit a Death Eater with a particularly nesting slicing hex. "James, leave! It's too dangerous!"

"It isn't!" I retorted. "Dad, I can handle this. _Stupefy!_ I've been- _incendio! _- I've been training!"

"James, this isn't- _diffindo!-_ the time for this!" Dad shouted. "And look out behind you!"

"Got it!" I ducked, and spun on my heel. "_Levicorpus!_"

"_Petrificus totalus_! James, Mr. P, now isn't the time to be arguing!" Lily exclaimed. "_Sectumsempra_! Don't get distracted- James, Cruciatus!"

"Right!" I replied, dodging to the left. I spun to face the caster, and immediately recognized her. "Bellatrix… _stupefy! Expelliarmus! Sectumsempra! _You! You should go to Azkaban!"

"Well, aren't you a feisty one?" Bellatrix cackled, dodging my spells. "_Crucio! Avada Kadavra! Crucio!_"

I dove to the side. "_Reducto! Stupefy! Sectumsempra! Petrificus totalus! _Why don't you go back to swooning over your bloody snake lord?"

"You'll pay for that!" Bellatrix shrieked. "_Avada Kadavra! Crucio! Avada Kadavra!_"

"_Accio_ car!" I exclaimed, and the nearest car came flying in front of me, blocking the curses. I winced when I noticed the car had been destroyed. I'd leave some Muggle money for that. "_Sectumsempra! Reducto! Stupefy! Sectumsempra!"_

Bellatrix screamed, mostly in anger, when the last spell hit her in the side, creating a decent sized gash. More red and green lights were sent my way. I managed to dodge most of them- _most_ of them. She'd gotten me with a Cruciatus. Once again, the impossible pain took over my body. I didn't scream as much now. I could hear Dad and Lily screaming my name, but in a few moments, the pain was over.

I'd fallen again, but I shakily got back up, glaring hatefully at Bellatrix. I had never thought it was possible for me to hate someone until the day Sirius died. This was his cousin, the snake that'd played a major role in torturing him.

"_Defodio! Depulso! Furnunculus! Stupefy! Deprimo!_" I had to admit, Bellatrix was doing a good job blocking and dodging my spells. "_Diffindo! Reducto! Sectumsempra! Stupefy!"_

I don't know if she got tired, or scared, or what, because after being hit with a Reducto to the leg, Bellatrix Apparated away, followed closely by the Death Eaters who were still conscious. The Aurors hardly relaxed, but I sat down on the hard asphalt, and attempted to stem the bleeding on my shoulder. Lily and Dad knelt down next to me.

"I'm proud of you, son," Dad declared after a moment. "That doesn't mean I'm not angry; no, you shouldn't have put yourself in danger. But you did well."

"Thanks, Dad," I smiled. "Lily, can you…?"

"Of course," Lily said kindly, pointing her wand at my injured shoulder. "_Vulnera Sanentum._"

"Useful, very useful," mused Dad. "James, that was very brash or you, dueling Bellatrix Lestrange."

"I wish she hadn't got away," I replied vehemently. "She deserves the Kiss! That snake murdered-"

I stopped myself just in time. Lily gave me a sad look, squeezing my hand.

"Tell him," she said simply. "We can trust him."

"Fine," I sighed. "Dad, I'm going to tell you something, and you aren't going to believe it, but, please, just listen before carting us off to St. Mungo's?"

"Alright," Dad agreed skeptically. "Please, please tell me you aren't hearing voices."

"I'm not hearing voices," I laughed, before taking a deep breath. "Dad, we- Lily and I- we're from the future."

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed my battle scene. Hope it wasn't too bad… James really, **_**really**_** hates Bellatrix. And you have one more revelation about Siri's death in James and Lily's timeline: Bellatrix played a key part in his torture. Thank you to krikanalo, potterhead934, and N.E. Person for the reviews! You all get virtual cheesecake! **

**I don't own Harry Potter. I never will.**


	5. Chapter 5

"I… what now? I'm not sure I heard you correctly," Dad frowned. "Did you just say you're from the _future_?"

"Two years, but, really, we should discuss this elsewhere," I declared. "Any ideas, Lils?"

"The Manor," Dad replied, before Lily could speak. "You mother will have a fit when she finds out you were here today."

"Alright. At least then I won't have to explain it twice," I sighed in resignation, before turning to Lily. "You coming, Lils?"

* * *

"JAMES CHARLUS POTTER, WHY IS THERE BLOOD ON YOUR SHIRT!?" I'd say that Mum was eager to see me, but I think she was too angry to be eager. Still, she rushed over and hugged me, before checking me over for any injuries. "The Cruciatus? Merlin, child, what have you gotten yourself into?"

"James and Lily both showed up at the battle today," Dad gave me a chiding look, but I could detect pride in his eyes. "He took on Bellatrix Lestrange."

"You what?" Mum hissed. "DO YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS AND RASH THAT WAS!? YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN SAFE, AT SCHOOL, BUT, NO, YOU HAVE TO GO TO A _BATTLE_ AND FACE OFF WITH ONE OF THE _MOST DANGEROUS _DEATH EATERS OUT THERE! NOT ONLY THAT, YOU BROUGHT LILY ALONG!"

"Mum, calm down," I said. "It was fine, we were fine. Actually, the only reason we aren't back at school is that I've got some explaining to do."

"DARN RIGHT YOU DO!" Mum screeched. "YOU COULD'VE GOTTEN YOURSELF KILLED! _KILLED_!"

"Well, I'm glad this was in person and not a Howler," I muttered. "Mum, Dad, me and Lily are from the future. Two years in the future, actually."

Mum blinked, then rubbed her ears, then blinked again.

"Jacob, that Cruciatus unhinged him. I think he needs to go to St. Mungo's," Mum declared, completely serious.

"No, no, really!" Lily piped in. "James and I, we came back to save the future! Things have been going really, really bad since the Attack on Hogsmeade."

"James, I don't think this is something you should prank about-"

"Then give us Veritiserum, use legilimency, heck, ask Dumbledore!" I exclaimed. "I don't care, we aren't lying! See, Lily, we shouldn't have told him!"

"I think… maybe… you must be telling the truth, if you'd consent to any of those three choices," Mum mused. "Oh, my baby's all grown up!"

"Mum, fifteen is hardly all grown up," I said.

"But sometimes," Lily grabbed my hand. "The world forces you to grow up all too soon."

"Yeah," I mumbled. "And sometimes the world takes lives all too soon."

"Are… are a lot of people dead?" Mum's smiled faltered. "People we know?"

"Yeah," I mumbled. "Frank's dad, your Muggleborn friend, Erica, Mum… loads of people… including… including…"

"Including Sirius," Lily finished quietly, squeezing my hand. Mum gasped, and covered her mouth with her hands, blinking back tears. Dad shook his head sadly. "He died only four months ago… James was there… they made him watch…"

"I held him while he…. while he died. We were talking… he did it all to protect me, you know," I bit my lip, but I couldn't prevent fresh tears from starting to fall. "We were cornered… and Sirius wouldn't let them touch me. He let them torture him, in exchange for my safety… and I was helpless to stop it… to this day, I wonder, if he had to die, why couldn't it have been quick and painless? Why did he have to suffer?"

Mum was crying now, and she rushed over and hugged me tight, before pulling away and grabbing my other hand. Dad walked over and put a strong hand on my shoulder.

"And I can't look at him here without- without remembering that night…" I whispered. "He was the strongest person I ever met. He didn't even scream, not once. He stood his ground until the Death Eaters left. He didn't give them the satisfaction of seeing him die…"

"You can save him, sweetie, I know you can," Mum murmured, smiling sadly. "If anyone can change the future, it's you."

"I'm going to try my best, but… the memories will never go away. They'll fade, yes, but they'll never leave," I sighed, and Lily squeezed my hand again. "But… what if I can't change it?"

"You changed today's attack," Lily pointed out. "My parents would have died without you."

"It wasn't just me," I blushed, pulling my hand out of Mum's to wipe the tears from my face. "You came with me."

"But it was your idea, James," Lily gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't sell yourself short."

"Now," Dad said in a jovial, albeit shaky, voice. "That is something I never thought I'd hear _anyone_ say to my son!" Dad's tone saddened. "That really affected you, didn't it?"

"People say that the Cruciatus is the most painful thing in the world," I began. "But I know better. Losing a friend is horrible- and watching someone torture you closest friend- your brother, and to have him die in your arms? That is more painful than any curse in the world."

* * *

Lily and I stayed a bit longer at my parents', before Flooing back to Dumbledore's office. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were there, and had evidently heard what happened, because they embraced us both and thanked us profusely.

"My boy, I think you're a fine boyfriend for my daughter," Mr. Evans told me. "For I think it is you I have to thank for her life, and ours, tonight."

"No, Lily was brilliant! I couldn't have done it without her," I replied, blushing. Mr. Evans just laughed jollily, and told us to be on our way. We walked back to the common room in companionable silence, holding hands, ready to just relax. Then I froze.

"_Crud_," I muttered. "Full moon tonight!"

"James, Sirius and Peter aren't Animagi yet, you don't have to worry," Lily chuckled. "Remus will be fine."

"But- If I can do something, I should, right?" I frowned. "Plus, it'll take my mind off of… you know…"

"You'll certainly surprise Remus," Lily chuckled. "Just be careful. We told your parents, and we'll probably tell mine eventually, but I really don't think anyone else should find out."

"That's probably true," I admitted. "But, still, I can't leave Moony on his own. You know how bad he tore himself up-"

"Alright, James, you can go," Lily laughed lightly. "I know how protective you are."

"Thanks, Lils," I beamed, leaning over and kissing Lily quickly on the lips. "Don't worry; I won't get hurt. Moony will recognize me. I'm part of his pack."

* * *

"Remus?" I hissed. "Remus, you there?"

It was nearing sunset, and I'd just heard Madam Pomfrey leave. Remus started, and stared at me in horror. "JAMES! You gotta get out of here! You'll be hurt!"

"Don't worry, Moony," I assured. "I'll be perfectly fine, believe me. Look," I quickly changed into Prongs, then back again. "See? Safe."

"But… so quickly?" Remus furrowed his eyebrows. "And you didn't tell Sirius?"

"Er… well…" I smiled sheepishly. "I forgot to tell him," There. That'd work. "Yep. I'll have to tell him later. Can't keep secrets from… from Sirius, right?"

"No," Remus replied, eyes narrowing. He was on to me. I really needed to stop stuttering around Sirius or when mentioning him. "Still, I don't think it's safe. You should go back- I'll be-"

"If you say fine, I'm going to hex you," I warned. "You won't be fine; you tear yourself up! I'm sure I can help, just trust me, Moony."

Remus looked at me doubtfully, but he had no choice but to agree, and his body suddenly began changing. Boy changed slowly into wolf, bones cracking as they shifted, hair sprouting from pale scarred skin. I quickly morphed into Prongs. Good thing, too, because moments later, I was standing before an adolescent werewolf.

Moony walked towards me curious, sniffing me a few times, before wagging his tail.

'Prongs. Hi Prongs!' the wolf exclaimed. I'd always found it weird how we could understand each other in these forms. Sirius's typical monologue was usually very amusing, and it was obvious he was a dog, because he would randomly bring up chasing squirrels or dog treats or even claiming he was a 'good boy'. Moony had picked up the 'good boy' phrase quickly, too.

'Hullo, Moony,' I greeted. 'Are you feeling alright?'

'Sore,' Moony said. 'Tired. We play now?'

'Alright, Moony, but some rules," I declared. 'No killing. No seriously injuring. For now, no leaving.'

'Okay,' Moony agreed readily. 'We play now. What do we play?'

'How 'bout… hide and seek?' I suggested, smiling inwardly at all the times we'd played similar versions of the game. 'You hide, and I'll find you.'

'Hide. Okay,' Moony scampered off and up the stairs. I closed my eyes- as per the rules, Remus would kill me if I cheated- and counted to ten, before plodding up the stairs. I could easily hear Moony panting.

'Hmm, where could my friend have gone?' I teased. 'Oh! I know!' I wandered over to the bed, which Moony was crouched under. 'Boo!'

'You found me, Prongs!' Moony laughed- er, well, as best a werewolf can laugh. 'Hey, Prongs, you smell funny.'

'Do I, now?'

'Yeah,' Moony replied. 'You smell sad. And scared. You aren't scared of _me_, right?'

'Nah, you're just a cub,' I chuckled- sorta- as Moony puffed up indignantly. 'Don't worry about me, Moony. Say, how about some play-fighting?'

* * *

When I returned to my dorm early the next morning, I was exhausted and bleeding, but smiling nonetheless. It took a lot to make me smile genuinely these days- most of my smiles were faked. Sirius greeted me with a horde of questions.

"Where were you? Why are you bleeding? You look tired. Why are you grinning like that? Did you prank the Slytherins? Did you prank Snape? Ooh! Were you out with Lily? Were you-"

"Sirius!" I exclaimed, faltering slightly. "I was with Moony. I master my Animagus form, look," I morphed into Prongs and back again, plopping down on my bed. "We had loads of fun."

"Bloody heck!" Sirius gaped. "You got it so quickly! I still can't even get fur on my hands!"

"Wow, James!" Peter gasped in awe. "You're so smart!"

"Ah, Pete, it's just a heck load of concentration," I smiled gently at him. "You lot will get it eventually."

"Did you hear? The first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up!" Sirius exclaimed merrily. I froze. No. I couldn't go to Hogsmeade… it'd bring too many memories… "Isn't that great! Oh, I can't wait to go to Honeydukes! And Zonko's! _Zonko's_, James! Think of the prank supplies! The chocolate _and_ the prank supplies!"

"Yeah… chocolate and prank supplies," I replied dully, my mood thoroughly trampled. I think if I went to Hogsmeade, especially with Sirius in tow, I might have a breakdown. I'd lose it. The memories of that night would be all too vivid.

"_Please! Stop, you're really hurting him!"_

"_James, it'll be okay."_

"_Poor, poor, Siri! Crucio!"_

"_Hang on, please!"_

"_Had to protect you…"_

"_No, please, hold on! Don't let go, hold on, Sirius, hold on!"_

"James! James, snap out of it!" I shook my head as Sirius hit me across the cheek. "What's wrong, mate? That's like the tenth time this month!"

"Sorry," I murmured, staring helplessly at Sirius. His eyes held concern, but I was reminded once more of the painful, regretful looks he'd sent me moments before his death. I laid down on my bed. "I'm going to sleep. It's weekend, we don't have classes. If Lily asks, just tell her what happened."

"Alright," Sirius gave me a long look, before sighing, and leaving the room. Peter blinked in confusion, before shrugging, waving, and following Sirius. I was alone.

**A/N: Hullo! Still alive, still writing! Hope the reactions were good enough… I kinda think this chapter was sorta choppy. Poor Jamie is still having flashbacks, and you guys are slowly learning more about Sirius's death. Thanks to N.E. Person, Theta-McBride, krikanalo, and Weasleychick32 for your reviews! Free virtual ice cream! Hope you all enjoyed!**

**I really, really don't own Harry Potter, and never, ever will I.**


	6. Chapter 6

"What-were-you-_thinking_!?" I hadn't thought Remus would be waiting for me in the dorm when I woke up. I also didn't expect him to be so angry. I also didn't think that my bed sheets would be bloodstained- I wasn't even bleeding very much. Nonetheless, it was enough to ignite Remus's anger. "You could have been hurt! What if your transformation hadn't lasted? What if Moony saw you as _prey_? What if-"

"You'd quit worrying and let yourself enjoy life a little," I suggested dryly, effectively shutting him up. "Relax, Moony. I'm fine- see, I'm not even bleeding anymore. Anyways, Moony recognized me."

"And if he hadn't?" Remus retorted. "And I want another explanation- why are you so depressed lately?"

"I'm not-"

"Don't lie to me, James Potter!" Remus exclaimed. "I want to know what's going on- and I _know_ it has something to do with Sirius! Did you two have a row, or did Lily say something, or what?"

"Nothing's the matter," I insisted. "No, I didn't have a fight with Sirius- he's practically my brother! And Lily sees him as a brother as well, she wouldn't speak a word against him without reason."

"Sirius told me what happened this morning," Remus said, narrowing his eyes. "About how you blanked out, and then looked at him weird. _What is going on_?"

"Remus, I- I can't really tell you," I said helplessly. "I- Lily said- you know, ask Lily. If she tells you, you're good. If not, sorry, you'll have to wait. I can't tell you."

Remus sighed, and sent me a pleading look. I just shook my head.

"At least- tell Sirius," Remus suggested. Startled, I shook my head wildly. I couldn't tell Sirius! Heck, I could barely face him without the horrible memories. Speaking them aloud might make me lose it. "James, he's worried about you. And I think he's scared of the way you look at him nowadays."

"What?" I asked. "Why?"

"I think he thinks you don't want to be friends anymore. I mean, _if_ you look at him, it's always with this sad look, almost mourning," Remus replied. "He needs your friendship, you know."

"I know!" I frowned. How could Sirius think I didn't want to be his friend. "I'm just trying to protect him!"

"Protect him?" Remus repeated sharply. "From what?"

I cursed my slip of tongue.

"Never- never mind, okay? Just… it's complicated, Moony," I sighed. "I can't explain it, it's too…" I trailed off. It was too painful. "I don't want to talk about it, okay. Ask Lily. If she tells you-"

"I know," Remus muttered, defeated. "If she tells me, I'm good. If she doesn't, I'll have to wait."

With that, Remus walked regretfully out of the room. I wiped my eyes, which were feeling moist. Sirius thought I didn't want to be his friend, all because I could hardly bear to look at him. I wished I could explain it, tell him, get the memories out of my mind. I wanted to see Sirius as he was now, not as he was when he was dying in my arms…

"James?" I looked up, thoroughly surprised. Sirius was standing unsurely in the doorway. I managed a shaky smile, that probably looked more like a grimace. "Can I- can I come in?"

"Course you can Padfoot," I said, my voice rather shaky. "Remus tells me you think- you think I don't want to be your friend?"

Sirius flinched horribly. "I just thought- you didn't want to look at me, and you were so upset around me, and you always falter when talking to me and… I thought you hated me. I mean, my parents hate me, and they can hardly stand to look at me either and they don't like it when I'm around either and I guess there must be something about me that just isn't likeable, huh? Cause first it was my family and-"

"Whoa, Padfoot, calm down," I exclaimed, motioning for him to sit beside me on the bed. "Look, that isn't your fault, and I _definitely_ don't hate you!" I put a comforting arm around his shoulder, and he looked at me hopefully, sadly. I winced, horribly reminded of that night. "I just… I can't explain, and that's probably not going to help, but I don't hate you. You're my brother in all but blood, Pads. I could never hate you."

"But you don't like having me around," Sirius said miserably, and I flinched again. I _did_ like having him around, but the memories were so painful…

"No, no, it isn't that," I replied sadly. "I do, I just… oh, I wish I could explain. Tell you what, Padfoot, I'll ask Lily is I can explain. Marauders aren't supposed to keep secrets from each other… no matter how painful the secret."

Sirius looked slightly confused at this. "Something happened," he noted, "something bad. I guess it involves me, huh?"

"You're smarter than you look," I quipped. "I don't want to lose you, Padfoot."

"Don't worry," Sirius replied, sounding a bit more like his normal self. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. You're stuck with me 'till you're old and grey!"

I smiled, genuinely this time. Yes. This time around, Sirius would live. I'd make sure of that- there was no way I was going to let him go through all that again.

* * *

"So… let me get this straight… you want to tell _all_ of the Marauders?" Lily asked. I nodded eagerly. "I dunno, James. We really shouldn't be telling anyone."

"But Sirius thought I _hated_ him," I said miserably. "I have to explain it to him, and Moony's already suspicious, and it'd be unfair if I left Peter out!"

"James, just… not yet, alright," Lily sighed. "Wait a bit. Sirius knows you don't hate him, and Remus can just wait. Besides, would you really like to traumatize them?"

"Well… no…" I admitted. "Sirius shouldn't see or hear about his… about what happened."

"No, at least, not yet," Lily looked at me sadly. "You shouldn't have had to see that, either."

"But I did," I replied pointedly. "I just… how can I forget? I want to so badly, but I can't, and seeing him- I don't know what's wrong with me! I should be _happy_, and I am, but then why am I so- so- so upset!? Why does seeing him alive remind me of his death? Why can't I just be glad that I can save him? Why do I have to _remember_?"

"You're only human, James," Lily smiled reassuringly, putting a hand on my shoulder. "The fact that his death shook you so much is proof that you love him."

"Yeah, okay," I sighed. "Look, here's DADA. Wonder what Williams has planned for today?"

"With our luck? We'll still be on grindylows," Lily laughed. We walked in the classroom, only to find all the desks gone, and a large, shaking trunk in the front of the room. I cursed under my breath. "Boggart. Oh."

"Oh," I repeated. "Oh, crud, more like it. I can't go up there."

"Try to blend in so Professor Williams doesn't see you," Lily suggested. I nodded, and raced over to stand by Sirius, who was laughing with Remus about something.

"Hey, you lot," I grinned, hoping my mask was good enough. Sirius beamed. "What's so funny over here?"

"We're doing boggarts today," Sirius declared. "And Remus is scared of the moon! The _moon_, Prongs!"

"I'm not scared of the moon," Remus replied indignantly. "Just of what the full moon represents."

Sirius let out a barking laugh, and mock-howled at the ceiling. I laughed as well, and Remus scowled half-heartedly. Suddenly, Professor Williams burst in the door.

"Good morning, Gryffindors!" He exclaimed cheerfully. "As you can see, I've managed to find a boggart for you! Who knows what a boggart does- Miss Evans?"

"A boggart shows you your greatest fear," Lily declared. "And can only be stopped by laughter."

"Correct!" Williams beamed. "Five points to Gryffindor- now, who knows the spell used to turn a boggart into something funny- Mr. Lupin?"

"_Riddiculus_," Remus replied. "That's the spell."

"Perfect! Take five points!" Williams whipped out his wand. "Now, practice for a minute, discuss your worst fears with your friends, while I work on getting this darn trunk open- I dare say Peeves sealed it shut!"

I didn't bother practicing- I'd learned this already. Instead, I stood there freaking out- what if I had to go up there? I knew what my worst fear was- it was the same as my worst memory.

"James, what about you?" Sirius asked me. "Moony's scared of the moon, Wormtail's scared of- did you say cats?"

"Yes!" Peter squeaked. "My sister had a cat, and it was evil!"

"That's your Animagus form talking, Wormy," I chuckled, and Peter flushed red. "Er… me… uh… I dunno."

"Well, I guess we'll see!" Sirius said cheerfully. "I don't wanna go though, I'd rather not have my worst fear broadcasted in front of the class, if you know what I mean?"

I nodded, preoccupied, trying to think of a way to make my worst fear funny. I was drawing a blank there…

"Got it!" Williams exclaimed, as the trunk burst open. "Ah… Miss McKinnon, you first!"

Marlene McKinnon walked to the front of the class, and immediately, a little green… thing… popped out, sporting antennae and a spacesuit.

"_Riddikulus_," Marlene exclaimed, and the green thing turned into a green dog, that started chasing its tail. Williams nodded approvingly, and beckoned Lily forward. The dog turned into- me? I was sitting at the front of the classroom, on my knees, my robes tattered and covered in blood from a nonexistent wound. My eyes were blank, and my face tearstained. I automatically realized- that was probably how I looked right after Sirius's death,.

"_Riddikulus_!" Lily declared, and the boggart-me stood up, brushed his robes off, and grinned cheekily. Lily giggled, and rushed back to stand by me.

"You're scared of me?" I teased. She stuck her tongue out at me.

"Mr. Lupin," Remus walked up to the front of the room, while Sirius smirked cheekily at him. Boggart-me, who was waving arrogantly, immediately turned into the moon.

"_Riddikulus_," Remus said calmly, and the moon turned into a cartoon-y sun, complete with a smiley face. Remus walked back to us, smiling serenely.

"Mr. Potter," I groaned, and looked towards Sirius for help. Sirius just smiled, and gestured to the boggart. I gave him a faux glare, and walked forward nervously. The boggart changed. Several girls screamed, and I heard Peter squeak. I froze. I'd been expecting it, but it still shook me. Laying on the ground was Sirius. He was covered in blood, and very, very still. And his eyes… his eyes were staring up at me, blank, lifeless. I started shaking, my mind flooded by memories.

"_Hold on, Sirius!"_

_Blood pooling around my legs, grey eyes looking at me painfully._

"_S'cold… it hurts, Jamie…"_

"_No, hold on, hold on!"_

_Grey eyes staring into the storm, their light gone. Cold. Gone. Dead._

"_Oh no… is he…?_

_Gone forever… all my fault…_

"_Where were you!?"_

_Dead, he was dead._

"_No! Siri, wake up, you've got to! Wake up, Siri, wake up!"_

_Dead, gone, never coming back. Dead._

"James! James, come on, it's okay!" I gasped, and looked up. The boggart was gone, and I was surrounded by Lily, Sirius, Remus and Peter. The rest of the class was gone. Professor Williams was standing in the doorway with Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore, the latter of whom seemed to be explaining something.

"That was so scary!" Peter exclaimed. "You started shaking, and you sorta knelt to the ground and went into some sort of trance!"

"It's alright, Prongs," Sirius said soothingly. "What happened?"

"You- you were-" I shook my head, wiping my moist cheeks, before pulling Sirius into a tight hug. "Don't ever leave me! Don't you dare!"

"What- Prongs, I told you I wouldn't," Sirius assured me. "Remember? You're stuck with me, James."

"Promise me. Promise me no matter what, you won't risk your life for me," I ordered. Sirius tensed.

"I can't promise that," he replied, as I slowly pulled away. "If it came down to my me living or you living, I think I'd rather you live."

"Bloody noble git," I muttered.

"I shouldn't have let you go up there!" Lily fretted. "I should have known that would happen!"

"Relax, Lils," I smiled shakily at her. "It isn't your fault."

"I think you traumatized the entire class," Remus chuckled unsteadily. "Several people ran as soon as your boggart appeared."

"Remus nearly threw up," Sirius quipped, grinning. "And Peter, I think, fainted."

"I did not!" Peter exclaimed indignantly. "I fell down in surprise! I didn't faint! Anyways, how come you were so calm, huh?"

"I have a good mask," Sirius replied nonchalantly. "Oi! James, last one to the kitchens is a Slytherin!"

"Ha! You're on!" I exclaimed, clambering up and laughing. Sirius raced right past the teachers, nearly knocking Madam Pomfrey over. I followed him, not even stopping to wonder why Professor Dumbledore was there.

**A/N: Okay. I hope this wasn't overly emotional. I hate writing Siri sad… Er… I was told last chapter that all-caps yelling is irritating, but, really, that's what I think portrays it best. Just my opinion. **** Thanks to potterhead934, Theta-McBride, krikanalo, and peevesisawesome for your reviews! Free virtual Sirius plushies! Hope you all enjoyed!**

**I don't own Harry Potter, or else OoTP would have ended differently.**


	7. Chapter 7

"JAMES! JAMES, QUIDDITCH! GET UP, QUIDDITCH!" I groaned, and turned over to glare at Sirius. It should be illegal for someone to be screaming this early in the morning.

"Go to sleep, Sirius," I muttered. "It's too early."

"No it isn't!" Sirius replied eagerly, oblivious to Remus's death glare. "It's six!"

I moaned, and rolled back over, pulling the covers over my head. "Sleep, Sirius."

I was reward with a thorough soaking.

"Sirius!" I exclaimed, throwing my covers back. Sirius just grinned at me, before rushing to Peter's bed, undoubtably to soak him as well. I sighed, and, seeing no other choice, climbed wearily out of bed. "We really need to find a way to prevent that."

"I wonder if we could get a restraining order from four to eight in the mornings," Remus mused. I laughed, and nodded. "Or, better yet, trap him in his bed until nine!"

"That," I grinned deviously. "Sounds like a plan."

"What sounds like a plan?" asked Sirius, bouncing on his heels. "Oh! By the way, James, I found your secret stash of candy!"

"Oh bloody heck," I muttered. "Can this morning get any better?"

"Lily! I'll go get Lily!" Sirius volunteered, racing out of the room. Remus chuckled, and rolled his eyes.

"Does he know that boys can't get up to the girls' dorms?"

Remus grinned evilly.

"No. No he does not."

* * *

"You're up early," Lily noted, sitting beside me on the couch in the common room. "I'm going to take a wild guess, based on your hair, and say Sirius?"

"Yes, bloody git," I replied irately. "He's great and all, but, really, it's inhuman how early he gets up!"

"Where is he, anyways?" Lily asked, looking around the mostly empty common room. "I don't see him anywhere-"

As if on cue, Sirius came racing into the common room, holding both of our brooms. "JAMES! We gotta go practice! We've gotta win against the Slytherins- I just heard, Regulus made Seeker!"

"Yes, I know," I replied. "He told me a bit ago."

Sirius pouted slightly, obviously put out that Regulus had told me first instead of him. But he brightened immediately. "Well, we _have_ to win, or Reggie'll never let me live it down!"

"It's just a game," Lily chuckled, and both Sirius and I turned to her, eyes wide in horror.

"_Just_ a game!?" I repeated incredulously. "Lily, it's _Quidditch_! It's an art form-"

"A way of life-"

"The very air we breathe!"

"The-"

"Alright," said Lily, raising an eyebrow. "I get it. You like your Quidditch." She then smiled at me, lowering her voice. "Still, it's good to see you so happy, James."

"It's Quidditch," I reiterated. "It makes everything better!"

"Exactly," Sirius beamed. "It's the best sport in the world! What would we be without it?"

"A lot calmer, for one thing," Lily answered, pulling out a Muggle book. "Well, you two go do your little loop-de-loops and other little tricks. I'll see you later, James, okay?"

"Right on, Lils!" I replied happily. "Come on Sirius, let's go practice! We definitely have to beat the Slytherins! Race ya!"

* * *

"Hello, Hogwarts! Welcome to the first Quidditch game of the season!" I grinned as I walked out onto the field beside Sirius, and shot Regulus a friendly smile, which he returned happily. Remus was commentating- we'd made sure to give him _plenty_ of chocolate, just to make things interesting.

"I want a fair game, you lot," Madam Hooch ordered. "Mount your brooms… and go!"

"And, Yaxley with the Quaffle- no, would you look at that! Black's intercepted! Gryffindor has the Quaffle! Black passes to Potter- Potter shoots- SCORE! Ten-zero to Gryffindor! Take that!"

I chuckled as McGonagall yelled out, "Lupin!"

"Sorry, Professor! And Malfoy has the Quaffle- woah-" I ducked as a Bludger flew straight over my head. "PENALTY! PENALTY!"

Madam Hooch blew her whistle. I flew forward to take the penalty shot.

"Potter goes forward for the penalty shot- he shoots- and YES! JAMES SCORES! TAKE THAT YOU LOUSY CHEATERS!"

"LUPIN!"

"Sorry, Professor. Now, let's continue, since James seems to be fine after that obvious attempt to take his head off-"

I rolled my eyes. Okay, so maybe we gave him too much chocolate…

"Lupin!"

"Sorry, Professor. Anyways, McKinnon has the Quaffle, she passes to Black- whoa! Sirius, look out for that Bludger!" I winced at a Gideon Prewitt whacked a Bludger away only seconds before it would have hit Sirius. "Okay, Gideon's got it. Oh! And Black- Regulus, that is- has seen the Snitch! Black scores! Thirty-zero, Gryffindor! And, looks like Black has lost the Snitch. Yaxley has the Quaffle again- he shoots! YES! Great block, Frank!"

I gave Frank a large grin, as Frank passed Sirius the Quaffle.

"Lupin, please refrain from being biased!"

"Sorry, Professor. Black's got the Quaffle, again. He passes to Potter- oi, Malfoy, get off James's tail! Potter shoots- ugh, Lestrange blocks it. Well, good shot, James. And- woah! Nice one, Prewitt brothers! That was close! Regulus has seen the Snitch- Amy White is fast on his trail- and! YES! YES! White has the Snitch! White has the Snitch! Gryffindor wins! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

I cheered as loudly as the rest of our team, and we all landed, hoisting Amy up on our shoulders. Sirius beamed at me, and I happily returned the grin.

"GRYFFINDOR, GRYFFINDOR!" we shouted, as the rest of our house poured out of the stands to greet us. I took the distraction to go over to Regulus.

"Hey, Reg," I grinned, holding out my hand. "Good game!"

"Good game," Regulus repeated, smiling despite himself, before laughing. "I haven't seen you this happy in forever!"

"It's Quidditch! What's not to be happy about!?" I beamed. Lily walked over with Snape, who nodded at me. "Hey Lils, Snape."

"Remus sure is some commentator!" Lily chuckled. "I had forgotten!"

"Me too," I agreed. "Plus, we gave him chocolate before the game. Surefire way to get him going!"

"I'll say," Regulus nodded. 'Hey, uh, so how's Sirius?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" I suggested, gesturing towards Sirius, who was jumping up and down, cheering with Remus and Peter and the rest of the Gryffindors.

"I dunno… I don't think he likes me much," Regulus said awkwardly. I laughed, and shook my head.

"You don't think Sirius likes you much," I repeated. "But Sirius doesn't think _you_ like _him_!"

"Oh," Realization dawned in Regulus's eyes. "I thought he hated me, I never thought he thought I didn't like him! Yeah. I will go talk to him!"

With that, Regulus walked courageously towards his brother. I watched for a moment as they started talking, before turning back to Lily and Snape.

"How have you been?" I asked Snape politely. "Haven't seen you much lately."

"I've been fine," Snape replied stiffly. "And you?"

"Better than ever," I declared, sneaking a glance at Sirius, who was animatedly chatting with his brother and very much alive. "Now, is there a reason you don't play Quidditch?"

"Things get far too violent for my tastes," Snape answered, eying me suspiciously. "I suppose you like the excitement, though, Potter?"

"The excitement of Quidditch? Yes, absolutely," I beamed. "As Sirius so nicely put it, it isn't just a sport! It's a way of life!"

Snape rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of a smile on his face.

"I guess it'd be dumb to invite you the Gryffindor victory party, huh?" Lily smiled.

"Obviously," Snape replied, raising an eyebrow. "Since I am a Slytherin."

"And you don't like Quidditch," I added, shaking my head. "How anyone can _not like Quidditch_ is beyond me."

"JAMES!" I sidestepped towards Snape as Sirius came barreling towards us. Sure enough, he ran right to the spot I'd been standing before, dragging Regulus along by the arm. "James! We gotta go get the stuff for the party- Reggie's gonna help, right Reg? Oh! Hi, Lily! Anyways, James, you coming? I doubt Hogsmeade will be too busy, but bring the Cloak- hey why are you hanging out with Sni- er, Snape?"

"Because I want to, why else?" I answered. Sirius gave me a dumbfounded look, before shaking his head and grinning. "Well, if we must. I'll see you two later, kay? And, Sirius, let go of your brother, you're going to rip his arm out."

* * *

"Wow!" Regulus whispered, as Sirius opened the passageway to Honeyduke's. "Wicked!"

"Shh- just because we're invisible, doesn't mean we can talk!" I hissed, and we all squeezed into the passageway. "Your brother learned that the hard way."

"We agreed not to talk about that," Sirius blushed- well, I think he did. It was too dark to tell. I pulled out my wand, muttering, "_Lumos_!"

The tunnel was illuminated.

"And you're _sure_ the Honeyduke's people won't rat us out?" Regulus asked anxiously. "I can't get in trouble! Mum will be so mad- and Sirius! You really, _really_ can't get into trouble!"

"Relax, Reg," Sirius said easily. "Even if we _do_ get caught, Mother and Father won't blame you. They'll blame me for 'corrupting you'. You'll be _fine_."

"What about you?" Regulus whimpered.

"If Sirius gets in trouble with his parents, he can always come to my place," I said, suddenly hoping desperately that we didn't get caught. Regulus sounded pretty scared of what his parents would do to Sirius. "And he _will_ come to my place, right?"

"Sure thing, Jamie!" Sirius replied cheerfully. "Oh! We're here!"

We climbed out into the Hogsmeade cellar quietly, before quickly getting out of the shop and taking off the cloak. Then, we walked around front, and casually walked in the building again.

"Okay, what do you think? Definitely the Levitating Chocoballs," Sirius exclaimed, grabbing several of the candies. "Ooh, James, you think Moony'd like Blood Pops?"

"He's not a vampire, Padfoot," I chuckled. "Nah, but get him some more chocolate bars."

"Oh, yeah, we used up all of his chocolate this morning!" Sirius winced, before grabbing twenty different chocolate bars. "Yes, best to get him more before he kills us…"

"You guys' nicknames don't make sense," Regulus declared. "Well- Sirius, maybe, because he's named after the Dog Star. But the rest don't make any sense."

"Ah, yes, dear brother, but that's the point," Sirius beamed. "Outsiders aren't supposed to get it, right, Prongs?"

"Absolutely, Padfoot," I nodded seriously. "Perhaps one day you'll understand. Until then, it remains one of the many mysteries of this world."

"You're in a really good mood today, mate!" Sirius laughed happily. "You haven't been this happy since… well, a month ago!"

"What can I say? It's Quidditch!" I replied. "Anyways, Reg, who are you lot playing next?"

"Ravenclaw, I think," Regulus mused, grabbing a handful of chocolate frogs. "And you guys play Hufflepuff."

"Thank goodness Amos Diggory graduated!" Sirius exclaimed. "It's almost impossible to score past him! Wonder who the Keeper is now?"

"Hopefully some second year," I glanced towards Regulus. "No offense, you're great!"

"None taken," Regulus snickered. "I agree; I've seen Diggory play, and let me tell you, I don't want my team playing against him."

"Let's pay for this and go to Zonko's!" Sirius decided, grabbing the things Regulus and I had picked up and rushing to the counter. I exchanged an amused look with Regulus, before Sirius rushed back over, and pulled us both out of the shop.

Hogsmeade was as busy as ever, and with the holidays coming up, people were bustling around buying gifts. I'd have to do that soon, but I'd probably wait for the official Hogsmeade trip.

"Crud!" Sirius exclaimed suddenly, nearly dropping the candy he was holding. I glanced to where he was looking, and swore under my breath. McGonagall was at Hogsmeade! "This way, come on!"

Sirius pulled Regulus and I into a conveniently placed alley near Zonko's. It was dark, and McGonagall wouldn't see us. I glanced around, before immediately recognizing my surroundings.

"_Crucio! Sectumsempra!"_

"_Stop, please, you'll kill him!"_

"_Ickle Potter's worried about you, cousin!"_

"_Stop, please, leave him alone!"_

"_I'm sorry, Jamie…"_

"_Hold on, hold on, please!"_

"_Thank you…"_

"_NOOO!"_

The world went black.

**A/N: Okay! Mostly happy chapter- for once. O.o Poor Jamie- but, hey! They won the Quidditch game! Quidditch makes everything better. Thanks to potterhead934, krikanalo, Eliza272, Theta-McBride, N.E. Person, and peevesisawesome for your reviews! Virtual Moony plushies! XD Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

"I don't know, Professor, he just fainted!"

"His eyes went all blank!"

"I see, well, in that case-"

I groaned, and blinked my eyes open, shutting them tight again when I was met with bright white. After a moment, I opened them again, to stare up into the blurry faces of Regulus, Sirius, and Professor Dumbledore.

"What happened?" I moaned, rubbing my head. "Ow. And why does it feel like someone whacked me 'round the head with a Bludger?"

"You fainted, mate," Sirius said anxiously. "Your eyes went all blank again, and then you just passed out- we, er, couldn't catch you in time, you hit your head."

I felt my face heat up. "I _fainted_?"

"Yeah," Regulus answered. "You did! It scared us."

"It scared you," Sirius corrected.

"Boys, if you'll go, I must talk to Mr. Potter," Dumbledore ordered. Sirius and Regulus nodded, and, hesitantly, left. "I assume you had a flashback?"

"It was worse, this time," I answered. "Er… did I faint in DADA when we had the boggart?"

"Yes, you did, briefly," Dumbledore chuckled, and I blushed again. "Nothing to be ashamed of. Tell me, what brought it on this time?"

"That- that alley we were in," I whispered. "That was… that was where they cornered us. That was where he died…"

"I see," Dumbledore said, the twinkle in his eyes gone. "That would trigger a flashback, especially being there with Sirius. Now, I'd inquire as to why you were in Hogsmeade, but I don't believe now would be the time."

"Probably not," I agreed. "Anyways, how long was I out?"

"Little more than thirty minutes," Dumbledore assured me, and I groaned. "Don't worry. You haven't missed the party."

"Ugh, how am I supposed to face Sirius," I moaned. "He'll ask me all sorts of questions that I can't answer- and what if I have another flashback?"

"Hmm, I believe we could pass that off for a concussion," Dumbledore said mischievously. "Though I daresay you and I will have more problems with Poppy if I let you out early."

"Urgh," I muttered. "More potions. Yuck."

"Don't worry," Dumbledore smiled. "You'll be fine. Go. Enjoy yourself- and I'll deal with Madam Pomfrey."

* * *

"Hey, James! You okay?" Sirius asked, handing me a butterbeer. I nodded, avoiding his eyes. "That's good. You got us worried there for a minute."

"James, there you are!" Lily exclaimed. "I heard what happened- oh, James, I knew you shouldn't have gone with them!"

"Relax, Lils," I forced a smile. "I'm fine."

"Yes, very fine, considering you have a bump on the back of your head the size of grapefruit," Remus commented sarcastically. I rubbed the back of my head; there was a small bump, nothing major. Certainly not the size of a grapefruit. "Plus, I can smell your distress from the other side of the common room."

"I'm not distressed," I replied. Remus raised an eyebrow. "Really. I'll be fine!"

"If you insist," Remus rolled his eyes. "And, Sirius, go get rid of that Firewhiskey- do _not_ drink it! Throw it out before I tell McGonagall."

"It's for the older years," Sirius declared defensively. "Tell one of _them_ to get rid of it."

"Well, it's on your head if we get caught with those," Remus replied. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder…"

"Sirius, what's this?" Regulus asked from across the room. Sirius and I glanced over to see Regulus holding a bottle of Firewhiskey, innocently looking at it.

"Crud," Sirius muttered, racing across the room. "No, Regulus, have a butterbeer, Firewhiskey is not for kids, that's for the older kids!"

"Such a good influence," I snickered, watching Sirius amusedly, but my heart wasn't in it. I missed the days we would run around the park in Remus's neighborhood, climbing trees and doing everything Remus warned us not to. These memories were almost as painful as the ones of Sirius's death.

"James, sweetie, why don't you have some candy?" Lily suggested, offering me a Fizzing Whizbee, which I took gratefully. She pulled me into a hug, resting her head on my chest. "Your face is happy, but your heart is so sad… I wish there was some way I could help…"

"Don't worry, Lils," I murmured. "I'll be fine."

"Fine, fine, fine, that's your favorite word?" Lily giggled. "Come on, now. Have some fun."

"You sound like Dumbledore," I laughed, pulling away. "Alright, you may regret saying that. Fun it is. Hey, Sirius! Peter! Get your tails over here!"

"Yeah, yeah, coming!" Sirius replied, and I saw him tell Regulus something before rushing back over here. "Sorry. Had to explain to him what he could and couldn't eat or drink."

"Yeah," Remus snorted. "As if he'll listen to you."

Peter arrived next, smiling from ear to ear.

"Okay, you lot," I paused. "Er… Lily?"

"Got it," Lily smiled, giving me a kiss on the cheek before going to hang out with her friends Marlene and Alice. I turned back to the Marauders.

"Okay, Sirius, have you got the Voice Changing Gas from Zonko's?" I asked. Sirius beamed, and pulled out a small round thing, which I figured contained the gas. "And the antidote?"

"I've got it!" Peter said proudly, holding out four vials. "One for each of us!"

"Thanks, Pete," I beamed. "Now, Moony, have you got éclairs? With the hair color changing potions?"

"Yep," Remus smirked, pulling out a tray of éclairs. "I had the house-elves help out. I figured we might need them."

"Here's the antidote. Now, go start passing the éclairs out," I ordered. Remus grinned, headed off, and started offering Gryffindors éclairs. "Alright, Sirius, launch the Voice Changing Gas," Sirius nodded, and tossed the object into the middle of the room. A light pink smoke filled the room. "Peter, antidote!"

We all downed the antidote just as the smoke cleared.

"Hey," I heard one girl say, in a deep, rasping voice. "What's wrong with my voice?"

"I sound like a girl!" squeaked Regulus. Sirius bit back a laugh, and I snorted.

"What's going on!? My hair is orange!"

"Mine is green!"

"I sound like McGonagall!"

"Gideon, I think we've been pranked! By who?"

"Who else?" Lily's irritated voice rose above the crowd, and it took all my self-control not to burst out laughing. Her voice was high a squeaky, like a house elf's, and her hair was jet black with neon yellow streaks. "JAMES POTTER! SIRIUS BLACK! REMUS LUPIN! PETER PETTIGREW!"

"Oh, look at the time!" Remus exclaimed. "I've got homework!"

"Me too, and I need James's help," Sirius declared, grabbing my wrist and heading towards the dorm. "And Pete, don't you have homework too?"

"Oh!" Peter said. "Yeah!"

With that, we all ran out of the common room, and up to our dorm.

* * *

It was late in the evening by the time the others had fallen asleep, and I snuck back into the common room. Lily was on the couch, waiting for me, a bemused expression on her face. Otherwise, the room was deserted.

"I'm not that mad," Lily giggled as I inched towards her hesitantly. I sighed in relief, and picked up my pace, sitting beside her comfortably. "So. What caused this flashback?"

"We were in the alley…" I whispered. "The one… the one Sirius died in…"

"Oh," Lily sighed, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. "James, you need to let go. It isn't your fault, and we'll save him. No use dwelling on what happened before."

"It's so hard," I said heavily. "Because as much as I'd like to forget it ever happened, I can't, and it just keeps getting worse. I think I'm getting better. I can talk to Sirius so much easier, but…"

"But?"

"I'll never be the same as I was," I admitted. "I will always be scarred by that night. I would have been scarred even if it wasn't Sirius. But it was, and that makes it so much worse."

"Oh, James," Lily whispered, resting her head on my shoulder. "You'll get better, I know you will. Think about happier times. Think about… hmm… think about the days we would spend out by the pond at Remus's house, just talking. Think about the times when your parents would tease us, and now we admit their teasing to be true."

"Remember when you bought Sirius a leash and collar for Christmas," I asked amusedly. "And then insisted on taking him for a walk around the neighborhood?"

"Yes, I remember that," said Lily fondly. "Remember when Remus dressed you up as Rudolph for Christmas?"

"Ugh, did you have to bring that up?" I blushed, before sighing. "Why can't things be so carefree like that?"

"They would be if you'd let them," Lily pointed out. "But you're living in the past."

"They're all lucky," I murmured. "Sirius and Remus and Peter… you know, I'm still having nightmares. Thank goodness for silencing charms, otherwise I'd of woken them several times over."

"You should get a Dreamless Sleep potion," Lily suggested. "I'm sure I could get Sev to brew one for you."

"Yes, that'd be nice…" I agreed. "Especially since none of us can brew potions worth our lives- unless, of course, they have to do with pranks or Animagi. In which case we suddenly have a strange affinity for potion brewing."

"How long before Sirius and Peter get it, do you think?" Lily asked. I shrugged. "Won't take as long with you helping them along."

"Yeah," I smiled slightly. "Full moons were so much fun. I'm not worried. Moony recognized me, and he should recognize Sirius and Peter. Actually, I'm more worried about Sirius doing something stupid."

"Hmm, true," Lily laughed. "Watch him fall off his broom during Quidditch practice."

"I'll catch him," I declared. "Merlin, wouldn't that just suck? We come back to save him and he goes and kills himself by falling off his broom."

"Glad you're joking again," Lily beamed. "I missed that."

"I joked with the others," I defended feebly.

"Hmm, not very genuinely," Lily retorted. "Anyways, James, I think you're on your way to recovery."

"I hope so," I murmured. "But… what if… what if we can't save him?"

"James, we will."

"Lily, no, listen! What if we prevent the attack and he dies anyways? What if we can't prevent the attack?" I asked, feeling horribly pessimistic and wishing I could have as much faith as Lily did. "I don't think I could stand it if Sirius died again."

There was a loud thud behind us. I spun around quickly. No one was there.

"James, you won't let that happen," Lily smiled. "No matter what, I think you'll keep Sirius alive."

"I sure hope so," I sighed. Suddenly, I heard another noise. "Lily, wait here. I heard something."

"Okay, James," Lily said unsurely. "Be careful."

"I will," I assured her. I crept over to the boys' staircase, where I'd heard the noise. There was a book on the floor- and a boy, looking like a deer caught in the headlights, near the top of the stairs.

"Remus!"

**A/N: Dun dun dun! How much did Moony hear? I know it seems early for Remus to find out, but a friend and I both decided he was mature enough to know at least a little- how much? Well, you'll have to wait and see, won't you? **** I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Big thank you to my reviewers, Beside Moonlight, potterhead934, Kazo Sakamari, N.E. Person, and weasleychick32! You lot get- drumroll please!- virtual James plushies! Don't worry, the plushies are a lot happier than James is in this story. ;) Thanks for reading!**

**I still don't own Harry Potter! What's up with that? ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

Remus stared at me, startled and white as a sheet. "James! I-"

"You were spying on us!" I accused harshly, before softening. "How much did you hear?"

"Lily said something about you recovering, and then you were talking about saving someone," Remus said. "And then you said something about Sirius dying- I, er, I dropped my book."

"That's what I heard!" I realized, as Lily walked over curiously. She blinked at Remus, before giving me a questioning look. "Moony here was eavesdropping."

"I couldn't help it," Remus flushed, color slowly returning to his pale face. "Anyway, what were you talking about!? Sirius isn't going to die!"

I lowered my gaze, blinking fast to keep tears from my eyes. Lily grabbed my hand.

"He isn't," Remus faltered. "Right?"

"Not if I can help it," I whispered. "Listen, Moony. We- er… gosh, this is hard. Lily and I, we're actually fifteen-"

"Almost sixteen," Lily corrected. "We're from the future, and we're here to fix it."

"Sirius is-"

"Dead, yes," I said dully, my voice quieting. "Murdered. Right in front of me- why do you think I'm so awkward around him? Do you know how weird it is, talking to your dead best friend when the memory of his murder is fresh in your mind?"

"M-murdered?" Remus squeaked, and all the color he'd been regaining disappeared. "The- the Killing Curse?"

"Probably would have been better if it had been," I said darkly, before catching Remus's horrified look. "Remus, look, I'm not going to go into detail about Sirius's death. Your thirteen, you don't need to hear all that."

"You weren't just going to meet Lily's parents, were you?" Remus asked intelligently. I smiled dryly, and shook my head. "Why were you going?"

"Protecting them from Death Eaters. Fought Bellatrix a bit- I owe her," I growled. "Bloody snake tortured her own cousin."

"T-torture?" Remus yelped, glancing up the stairs towards our dorm. "They _tortured_ him?"

"I told you, you're too young," I said irately. "Besides, I'd rather you not have nightmares."

"Like the Cruciatus?" Remus continued, wide-eyed. I snorted.

"Nah, his parents use that," I replied, before realising my mistake and covering my mouth. Remus's face was completely horrified, and he turned towards the dorms, undoubtedly to go press Sirius for answers to see if this was true. "Wait! Remus, I'm not supposed to know that! Sirius will _freak_ if he knows we know!"

"But... we've got to get him out of there- if they use that curse!" Remus exclaimed. "We can't just leave him there!"

"I know; I'm working on that too," I assured him. "But Sirius doesn't want anyone to know. Thank goodness your mum is so good at spotting when people are hurt, we'd've never known when he ran away."

"My mum?"

"Yeah," I replied. "We've been living with you lot for around a year or so."

"Oh," Remus said. "Well, then... how can I help?"

"Well, you can start by not being angry when I show up at the next full moon," I answered, smirking triumphantly as Remus looked put out. "I'll be fine; I just want to make sure you are."

"James is as much of a 'noble git' as Sirius is," Lily smiled fondly. I stuck my tongue out at her. "And it isn't a bad quality."

"Until someone dies to protect you," I murmured. "Then it's a bloody annoying trait that makes my life miserable. Stupid Sirius. He should have ran for help."

"As if," Lily snorted. "We all know Sirius, he'd never leave a friend in danger."

"Too true," Remus said quietly, his face quite pale, amber eyes glinting in the slight moonlight flickering through the windows. "Poor, poor Sirius..."

"He's still alive," Lily smiled sympathetically. "Both of you, remember that. James, you can't live in the past. Remus, don't dwell on the future. Sirius will be _fine_."

"I know," I nodded, sighing. "Come on, Moony. We should get some sleep."

"Don't put silencing charms on your bed," Remus ordered. "You'll never get over your nightmares if you don't let anyone in."

"Fine, I'll make it so you can hear me. No need to wake the others," I rolled my eyes. "But, honestly, I have a lot of nightmares. You really aren't going to want to hear me."

* * *

"_Death Eaters!" We were walking down the streets of Hogsmeade when it happened. Dark clouds filled the sky, and suddenly cloaked figures were everywhere, and spells were flying._

"_We gotta get back to the castle!" Remus exclaimed urgently, as Peter squeaked in terror. " Look, Honeydukes is right there, we can take the cellar!"_

"_Right, got it!" I nodded. "Okay, Sirius, let's..."_

_I trailed off. Sirius was nowhere to be seen. I started looking around. "Where'd he get off to- go without me, I'm going to find Sirius!"_

"_Alright, but be careful, James!" Lily said fearfully, giving me a kiss on the cheek. Remus nodded determinedly, and the three of them ran off down the street. I headed in the other direction._

"_Sirius! Sirius, where are you?" I yelled. "SIRIUS!"_

"_James!" I turned. Sirius caught my eye; there were Death Eaters quickly coming at him. I recognized one as his cousin._

"_Sirius!" I exclaimed in relief, running towards him. He grabbed my arm, and pulled me into and alley. "Sirius, we have to get to Hogwarts."_

"_James, there are Death Eaters everywhere, we'd never make it," Sirius gave me a nervous look, the slightest bit of fear shining through his mask. "Listen, hopefully they won't find us, this alley is inconspicuous enough."_

"_And if they do?" I asked apprehensively. I envied Sirius for being so brave. "What if they find us?"_

"_I'll protect you," Sirius said determinedly. "You'll be fine, Jamie."_

"_You'll be fine too," I said, but Sirius looked slightly doubtful. I wondered why. "I'll protect you, too."_

"_Thanks, James," Sirius smiled slightly. "But, really, if it comes down to it... just leave it to me, okay? I can take more curses than you, I think."_

_I didn't bother asking why._

"_Be careful," I whispered, feeling quite helpless, crouched down in the corner of an alley, scared out of my wits (so much more than I'd ever admit aloud). Sirius nodded, and gave me a reassuring brotherly hug. _

"_I will," Sirius said, but I knew Sirius well enough to know that his idea of careful and my idea of careful were completely different. "I won't let them hurt you."_

_I wondered vaguely if this was what it was like to have an older brother. I hoped Sirius wouldn't do something stupidly noble, which would be very much like him._

"_Hey! I see something in here!" Sirius stepped in front of me, and hissed in my ear, "Try to blend in- back up as far as possible."_

_Heart beating fast, I backed up into the wall, the rough stone digging into my back through my robes. Sirius stood protectively in front of me, shielding me from view._

_I felt like a coward._

_The alley was illuminated, and five or six Death Eaters walked into the alley. Including Bellatrix. My blood ran cold, and Sirius let out a low growl reminiscent of his Animagus form. _

"_Ooh! It's my ickle cousin Siri!" Bellatrix cackled. "Alone, are you? Where are your friends and the mudblood?"_

"_Not here," Sirius declared defiantly. "And don't call Lily that! She's a better witch then you'll ever be!"_

"_Sirius," I whispered so quietly even I could hardly hear myself. "Don't fire her up."_

"_Now, now, Siri, no need to be feisty," Bellatrix cooed, eyes glinting. "You're not alone. You never go anywhere without Potter."_

"_James isn't here," Sirius lied. "He's safe. At Hogwarts."_

"_Liar," Bellatrix's eyes gleamed, and she pulled out her wand. Suddenly, Sirius was blasted to the ground, clutching his shoulder and grimacing. I whimpered; Sirius was hurt because of me. "Ah! Little Potter! Hiding behind my cousin... how very non-Gryffindor of you."_

"_James is one of the bravest people I've ever met!" Sirius declared hotly. "He's no cowardly snake like you!"_

_Bellatrix's eyes flashed, and suddenly her wand was pointing at me. "_Crucio_."_

_Pain. Unimaginable pain. My blood was on fire, my skin being ripped from my body, my every bone shattering. I think I was screaming, and I dimly heard Sirius shouting my name. It was over as quickly as it started, and I was left on the ground, breath coming out in awkward spurts, shaking like mad. Sirius was kneeling beside me._

"_Bloody heck, mate," I wheezed. "You never said it hurt that bad!"_

_Sirius didn't smile. Instead, he helped me up, and turned to Bellatrix, his glare colder than ever. "How dare you? You're pathetic; what did he ever do to you?"_

"_I've just been itching to torture someone all day," Bellatrix smiled widely, and I was disgusted. How could anyone want to torture someone? "_Cruc_-"_

"_No!" Sirius exclaimed, cutting Bellatrix off and stepping in front of me. "Don't hurt him. Do whatever you want to me, but leave James alone!"_

"_Sirius, don't!" I cried desperately as Bellatrix's eyes lit up as if it were Christmas Day._

"_Ooh, baby cousin! I might just take you up on that offer!" She beamed. "Restrain the other boy."_

_The Death Eater nearest me shot a spell at me, and I didn't have time to dodge. My limbs snapped together, and I recognized the hex as _Petrificus Totalus_._

"_No!" I cried helplessly. Sirius gave me a sad look, before glaring defiantly at Bellatrix. "Please! Don't hurt him!"_

"_Just remember, Siri! Fight back and the other one dies!" Bellatrix cackled. Sirius narrowed his eyes. I mentally begged him to run for help._

"_Fine."_

"Crucio_!"_

"_NOOOO!"_

"James! James, wake up, it's just a nightmare!" I shot up in my bed. Remus was staring nervously at me. The others were still asleep. "Just a nightmare."

"No," I croaked. "A memory."

Remus paled. "You were screaming."

"Was I?" I mused distantly. "Hmm... well, yeah, the Cruciatus make people scream a lot. 'Cept Siirus, of course."

"You- you were tortured too?" Remus frowned. "Oh, gosh, James... no wonder you're so..."

"Messed up?" I suggested. "Nah, it was less the physical torture, more psychological. Be glad you weren't there."

"I am," Moony admitted. "Do you- do you remember that day... often?"

"Most times I see Sirius I remember," I said quietly, running a hand absentmindedly though my hair. "And other reminders. Like the boggart."

If possible, Remus paled even more. "Was he... did he really look like that?"

"More or less," I shrugged dully. "There was a lot of blood... I think I was in shock at that point... we all were... You were the calmest, I think. Pale as a sheet, but you weren't hysterical."

"Poor Sirius," Remus murmured, glancing at Sirius's bed. "Poor you..."

"Me?" I asked in surprise. "No. I'm lucky. I'm alive. Sirius saved my life. That's what's been keeping me going, at least it was back in the future. Sirius died to let me live. I wasn't going to let his sacrifice be in vain."

"I bet he wanted you to really live though," Remus declared. "Not just be alive."

"That's what Lily says," I smiled slightly. "I'm so glad we have this chance. Sirius deserves to live a long and happy life. At the very least, he doesn't deserve to be tortured."

"You'll save him," Remus said confidently. "I know you will."

"Thanks, Moony," I replied, gazing at Sirius's bed. "Sometimes, I wake up and wonder if it was all a dream. At first, my mind wouldn't accept that Sirius was dead. Now, it has, and it won't accept that he's alive. I'm so confused..."

"Even if you couldn't save Sirius, just remember that Sirius wants you to live your life; grow up, have a family, grow old," Remus chuckled. "Although, I can hardly imagine you with grey hair. You can join him when you're old and grey."

"Moony," I laughed lightly. "You really are wise beyond your years."

"Why, thank you," Moony beamed jokingly. "I try."

**A/N: Hullo all! So, Remus knows! He's the most mature. He also knows how bad Siri's parents are! Poor Sirius. Big thanks to my reviewers, Theta-McBride, icecatfire, Accalia Silvermoon, Ranma's girl1, potterhead934, and N.E. Person! You guys can all have some of Remus's éclairs from last chapter, if you dare! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. How long is it gonna take for James to get over this?**

**I still do not own Harry Potter.**


	10. Chapter 10

It was the day everyone would be leaving for Christmas. Lily was ecstatic- she would be spending Christmas with her parents. I was not as joyful as I could've been; Sirius had gotten a letter demanding he returned home.

"It'll be fine," Sirius told me easily on the train ride home. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

I gave Sirius a glare. "Do you really want me to come up with worst case scenarios? Because I can think of several."

"James, nothing will happen!" Sirius gave me a reassuring smile. "They aren't going to do anything to me."

"Well," I sighed. "Fine then. Make sure you get enough food- no skipping meals! Don't go out of your way to anger them, just lie low for a but. Get out of there as soon as possible, there's room at my place whenever. Keep an eye on your brother. Don't do anything stupid. No-"

"James, calm!" Sirius laughed. "You sound like your mum. Relax, you'll see. It'll all be okay. I will be _fine_."

I didn't say anything more, but I hardly believed him; the last time he'd told me that, he'd ended up dead. Remus wasn't much better than I was, knowing fully how bad Sirius parents were.

"Are you sure you have to go?" he asked. "Can't you just stay with James?"

"Moony, if I don't go, they might just kill me," Sirius said, possibly joking, but I flinched nonetheless. "Look, we're here."

We all got off the train. My parents were waiting with Lily's parents. I greeted Lily happily, since she had opted to sit with some other friends on the train.

"Off we go, then," Dad said jovially. "Merry Christmas, Lily! James, where's Sirius?"

"He has to go to his parent's," I said bitterly. "Wouldn't listen to anything I had to say."

Mum gave me a sad look, before smiling at the Evans. Dad Apparated us home.

"Merry Christmas, Jamie!" Mum smiled. "Now, you're fifteen so I expect you to help your father with the tree this year."

"Technically-"

"Ah, ah, ah, James," Dad grinned. "Don't argue with your mother. How was term?"

"Crazy," I said. "Confusing. Sad. I wish I knew how to just get rid of the memories! It'd be so much easier if I couldn't trigger them so easily."

Dad and Mum exchanged a knowing look, the kind that always annoyed me greatly.

"Don't worry, baby, it'll get better," Mum soothed. "So when is Sirius coming?"

"Hopefully he'll be able to get away for Christmas Day," I replied. "At the very least, he could sneak out."

"We'll make sure he's here," Dad smiled. "Don't worry; I'll get him home for Christmas if I have to go to the Black house myself."

"Thanks, Dad," I said happily. "I'd hate for him to be miserable on Christmas."

"By the way, I took it upon myself to invite the Evans over for dinner the day after Christmas," Mum declared. I stared at her. "It seems like a good time for me to get to know my future daughter in law."

"Mum!" I spluttered."Oh, man, you'll never change, will you?"

"Nope," Mum smiled almost cheekily. "We invited the Lupins, the Pettigrews, and Sirius, Regulus, and Severus."

"Oh, gosh, Snape's face when he gets the invitation!" I laughed. "He'll never believe it!"

"If Regulus comes, we're hoping they'll let Sirius comes," Dad said. "If not-"

"You'd go to the Black house yourself," I completed. "Great, then! I'm going to go write Sirius!"

* * *

"Sirius! Regulus!" I exclaimed happily. It was a few days before Christmas. Sirius and Regulus had just stepped out of the floo. Mum took one look at Sirius, rushed out of the room, then returned with a plate full of food, shoving it into Sirius's hands. I nodded approvingly. Sirius was too thin. Again.

"Hey, James," Sirius beamed, stuffing a roll into his mouth. "I didn't even have to sneak out! I told Mother that I wanted to go with Reg to his friend's house- she has no idea the friend is you!"

"That's great!" I forced a grin, still unsettled by how thin my friend was. "No wonder there were so many presents in the attic- aw, they weren't all for me then?"

"Nope. James, what were you doing in the attic?" Dad said, walking in. "Hullo, boys. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" The Black brothers replied.

"We have presents, then?" Sirius asked eagerly. "Can we go open them?"

"On Christmas Day," Mum said disapprovingly. "Sirius, dear, you really need some meat on your bones! What have you parents been doing, starving you?"

Sirius shifted awkwardly, and Regulus sent him a sad glance.

"Not exactly," Sirius answered, and Regulus gave him an exaggerated look.

"I've been sneaking him food," Regulus declared. I frowned. "As much as I can, which is not a lot. He's been locked up."

Sirius scowled as Mum let out a sad cry of, "Oh, poor baby!"

"I'm fine, really, it's been less than a week," Sirius said. "I've lasted longer."

This only served to anger Dad and Mum more. I'd known this, but still, I was mad at them. In fact, I hated most of Sirius's family. Especially Bellatrix.

"James? You alright?" Sirius asked. I nodded, shaking my head to clear my mind. "Was that a yes or no?"

"It was a yes," I chuckled. "I just can't believe your parents."

"I wish they'd stop it," Regulus said sadly. "At least they stopped the Cruciatus?"

Mum let out a tiny yelp.

"Nah," Sirius replied, oblivious to my Dad's face growing red in anger and Mum's eyes welling with tears. "I just quit screaming. Er- Mrs. Potter? Mr. Potter? You okay?"

"Sirius, how long has this been going on?" I asked, knowing the answer, but seeming to be the only one who could speak without either sobbing or yelling. Sirius shrugged.

"I dunno, few years, something like that," he said guardedly, and I clenched my fists. Mum immediately pulled out her wand and went into Healer mode, and Dad ushered Regulus and I out of the room.

"Rest assured that he will be out of there as soon as possible," Dad declared solemnly. "Regulus, you're welcome to leave as well. Once Carol runs a diagnosis, we'll have evidence enough to charge them for child abuse."

"Good," I smiled dryly. "He can live with us now."

"I- I don't know," Regulus sighed. "I mean, Mum and Dad treat me fine…"

"But when they find out you're friends with me?" I asked wryly. Regulus shifted uncomfortably. "You're welcome here too, you know."

"Let's cheer up a bit," Dad beamed suddenly and quite obviously forcedly. "It's Christmastime! Tell you what- soon as Carol is done with Sirius, we'll all help to decorate the tree!"

As if on cue, Mum stormed out with Sirius following behind, holding a long sheet of parchment. "Those bloody Blacks! Ooh, when I get my hands on them! They're vile, foul, absolutely wretched people!"

She shoved the parchment into Dad's hands, who read it, and paled. He handed it to me, and Mum almost snatched it up, but Dad gave her a look and she let me read it.

"Bloody heck!" I exclaimed. "Sirius, you git, why didn't you say anything!?"

"Didn't think it was important," Sirius said, his face red. "I didn't think anyone'd care."

"You- what!?" I spluttered. "Sirius! Of course we'd care!"

Sirius next reply was so quiet that I barely heard it. "That's not what my parents said…"

I frowned, but didn't say anything. Dad and Mum talked for a second, before Dad grinned, and ushered us into the living room. There was a big box of ornaments on the floor. Sirius beamed wider than I'd seen him smile since he'd gotten the letter telling him to come home.

"Well," Mum smiled kindly. "Have at it, then. I'm going to go help the elves with breakfast."

"And I have business at the Ministry," Dad laughed. "You have free reign. Do what you'd like."

Sirius, Regulus, and I started eagerly on the tree, laughing and joking with each other.

"Aw, James! Look at you!" Sirius grinned cheekily, holding up an ornament sporting a picture of a four year old me. I blushed. "What a cute little costume!"

"Yeah, yeah, put that one in the back," I said. Sirius's eyes flashed mischievously, and placed the ornament in the front of the tree. I scowled half-heartedly, and shook my head amusedly at Sirius's antics. "Oh, alright, then."

"Why, James, it's just too cute to hide!" Sirius declared happily, and Regulus snickered picking out another ornament- obviously handmade.

"James! Did you make this?" Regulus laughed. "It's cute! What's it supposed to be?"

"It's Santa!" I exclaimed. "Don't you know who Santa is!?"

"Nope," Regulus said. Sirius and I gawked at him.

"But," Sirius shook his head. "But it's Santa!"

"Mum and Dad have never mentioned a Santa," Regulus shrugged. I frowned, looking at Regulus pityingly.

"Santa brings presents!" I declared. "He comes to your house on Christmas Eve, in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer!"

"Like James," Sirius added. I whacked him gently on the head. "Okay, okay, not like James! Santa comes down the chimney and leaves toys to good kids!"

"How come I don't get anything from Santa?" Regulus whined. "I'm a good boy!"

"Your parents probably have anti-Santa wards on your house," I said wisely. "Sirius gets presents from Santa at Hogwarts."

"Uh-huh! You'll probably get them here, too!" Sirius said eagerly. "He always knows exactly what you want!"

"What are we talking about in here?" asked Mum, walking in with three platters of food, and three mugs of hot chocolate. "I figured you'd like to eat in here."

"Yep!" I beamed. "We're talking about Santa!"

"Ah, yes, Santa Clause," Mum smiled. "Yes, yes. I do wonder what he's gotten you boys this year?"

"I hope he brings me something," Regulus said wistfully. "I didn't even know who he was until now!"

"You didn't, huh?" Mum raised an eyebrow. "Well! I know what we're reading Christmas Eve."

"The Night Before Christmas!" I cheered, rushing over to the bookshelf on the other side of the room and yanking the book out. "By the fireplace! With hot cocoa! And we'll leave cookies and milk out for Santa- ooh! We can leave him some pizza too, do you think?"

"I think Santa would very much appreciate pizza," Mum chuckled at my enthusiasm. I was a bit surprised myself; I was acting rather childish. Then again, I'd always loved Christmas.

"We're gonna bake cookies?" Regulus asked eagerly. "This is the best Christmas ever!"

* * *

"JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE ALL THE WAY!" I awoke bright and early Christmas morning to Sirius and Regulus singing at the top of their lungs. I smiled, and climbed out of bed, greeting the caroling brothers cheerfully, before joining them until my parents got up.

"Alright, it's six in the morning," Dad said tiredly, poking his head out of his room. "Go back to bed, you lot, or at least shut up."

So we all went back into my room, and sat on the floor in a circle.

"I think I heard him last night!" Regulus grinned excitedly. "I head sleigh bells, and someone laughing!"

"Ho, ho, ho?" Sirius suggested. Regulus nodded eagerly. "Did he say 'Merry Christmas'? I could have sworn I heard that!"

"Me too!" I said happily. "So, we know Santa's been here! Wonder what he brought us!?"

"A new broom!" Sirius exclaimed.

"A painting set!" Regulus beamed. I glanced at him. "I don't usually tell people; I love to paint."

"Wow!" I smiled. "I never knew!"

"No one does," Regulus admitted. "What do you want?"

"Hmm…" I frowned thoughtfully. "I think… I'm happy to be here with my family, celebrating Christmas, not worrying about anything. I have everything I could ask for."

"That was… philosophical, James," Sirius noted. "You've been hanging out with Lily too much."

I did the mature thing. I stuck my tongue out at him.

It only took about thirty minutes for Mum to come get us for breakfast. She told us strictly, "Just don't go in the living room yet! No presents until after breakfast!"

"Yes, Mum," I said obediently. Nonetheless, all three of us tried to poke our heads into the living room over the gates Mum had put up that blocked it off.

Breakfast was quick, and Sirius and Regulus chattered about presents and candy. Then, it was presents.

"Alright," Mum said. "Now, since Regulus is the youngest, he'll open the first present. Jacob, you have the camera?"

"Got it," Dad replied, presenting his camera. "Alright Regulus, open this one first."

Dad passed Regulus a thing package, and Regulus tore it open. Out fell a note, and a copy of _The Night Before Christmas_. Regulus read the note. "It's from Santa! It says, 'Dear Regulus, A little birdie told me you'd never heard of me. Well, it's very good to know you believe now! I thought you might like to have your own copy of this book! Enjoy it! Sincerely, Santa Clause'!"

"That's great!" I said happily. "Okay! Sirius next- open mine!"

I tossed Sirius a present wrapped in blue. He tore it open eagerly. "Wicked, James! A toy motorbike! Oh, this is brilliant! Thanks so much!"

I smiled widely.

"Here, open mine, James!" Regulus beamed, passing me a present wrapped in Gryffindor patterned paper. "You'll like it."

I ripped off the wrapping paper. It was a framed painting of me, Regulus, and Sirius. "Oh! Wow, Reg! Did you paint this?"

"Yeah," Regulus blushed. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" I grinned. "It's magnificent! Must have taken you forever!"

Regulus beamed wider than ever.

"Mum, open my present!" I requested. Mum smiled, and grabbed my present out of the set. She opened it, and smiled. It was a Muggle cooking set.

"Oh! Fascinating!" Mum declared. "I'll have to use this! Thank you, Jamie dear!"

The presents continued much in this fashion. Regulus had indeed gotten a painting kit from Santa, and Sirius got his new broom from my parents. I'd gotten lots of candy, and Lily had gotten me a book on Occlumency and organizing my mind. Moony had gotten me a book on time travel.

"Sirius, open that thin one from us- be careful, dear," Mum said. Sirius carefully pulled the wrapping paper off a box, which he opened. He pulled out a few papers, read them over, then looked up, eyes full of disbelief, joy, and relief.

"I… is this for real?" he asked. Dad nodded happily. "I… oh, man… you have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you…"

Sirius passed me the papers. I immediately realized what they were. "Guardianship papers! Sirius, you're gonna live with us!"

"That's great, Sirius!" Regulus exclaimed. "Be sure to write me- it'll get lonely without you."

"This… this is amazing," Sirius said. "I… thank you."

"It's not a problem, Sirius," Mum replied kindly. "You're welcomed here. Now, Jamie, open up your present."

I did. It was a Pensieve. There was a note attached.

_Dear James,_

_I know you've been having trouble with your memories. If you put them in here, they will be much dimmer. It should help with the nightmares and flashbacks. Take good care of this,_

_Love,_

_Mum and Dad_

I glanced up at them, and smiled. "This is great! Thanks, Mum, Dad."

"No need to thank us," Dad said happily. "Just use it, help yourself."

"This really is the best Christmas ever!" Regulus exclaimed from his seat. He'd opened his paint set. "Water colors, oil paint, and acrylics!"

Sirius and I exchanged amused glances, then burst out laughing. Life was good.

**A/N: Hello, and merry super early Christmas! Hope you guys all enjoyed! They finally have Sirius out of there for good! Thanks to Theta-McBride, N.E. Person, Lovewriting12, icecatfire, and Kazo Sakamari for your reviews! Virtual candy canes for you! The pizza for Santa, the reading of **_**The Night Before Christmas,**_** and the gates on Christmas morning are all tradition at my place, so I ended up incorporating them into my story! Hope you enjoyed!**

**I don't own Harry Potter. Or **_**The Night Before Christmas**_**. **


	11. Chapter 11

The day after Christmas was going to be hectic. I knew that the moment Lily, her parents, Petunia, and Snape walked out of my fireplace.

"Merry Christmas, James," Lily greeted happily. "Merry Christmas, Sirius, Regulus."

"Lily! Guess what!?" Sirius beamed, bouncing on his heels. "I get to live with James now!"

"That's great, Sirius!" Lily smiled warmly. "Congratulations."

"Hullo, Severus," I said. Snape nodded at me, a rare smile on his lips. "Petunia."

"Potter," Petunia sniffed. "Mum, must we stay here. There's so much… freakishness."

"Petunia," Mrs. Evans rebuked. "That's rude. This is Lily's boyfriend, wouldn't you like to get to know him?"

"Lily is too young to have a boyfriend," Petunia said pompously. Lily rolled her eyes, and walked over to me, kissing me on the cheek. Petunia scowled.

"Ah, young love," Mum sighed happily, and she and Mrs. Evans immediately began chatting.

"So, how was everyone's Christmas?" I asked. "Like my presents?"

"Oh, James! I absolutely loved the necklace you got me- it must have cost a fortune!" Lily beamed, pulling the necklace out of her shirt. I she'd thought she'd like it; it had a beautiful green flower charm on it. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem," I said, leaning over and giving her a kiss on the lips. "Severus?"

"I admit, I was surprised," Snape said. "That you got me a Potions kit. It is a rather good present, I must thank you."

That was as close to a heartfelt apology as I'd ever get from Snape, so I smiled.

"You got Sniv- er, Snape a present?" Sirius gaped. I hit him half-heartedly on the shoulder. "Ow! Okay, okay,merry Christmas Snape."

"And to you, Black," Snape drawled. "Hello, Regulus."

"Hi, Sev," Regulus grinned. "I got a painting set!"

"You paint?"

"No one knew until a yesterday," Regulus flushed. "But Santa knew! Santa got me a present!"

Petunia scoffed.

"Silly little freak, Santa Clause is a children's story," she frowned. "Hardly true."

"Liar!" Regulus declared. "Nobody knew I wanted a paint set, and Santa still got me one, so ha!"

Petunia rolled her eyes, and sat down in an armchair, pulling out a Muggle novel and sticking her nose in it.

"Ignore her," Lily sighed. "Petunia is just…"

"Jealous?" Snape suggested. "Stuck-up?"

"Sev," Lily admonished. "Be nice."

"That is nice," Snape said. "I could have said something much worse."

"That's right," I piped in. "He could have. He's said worse to us before."

"He's _hexed_ us before," said Sirius sorely. "He's a slimy-"

"Sirius!" I said sharply. "Would you _please_ get over your bloody prejudices?

"Language, James!" Mum called from across the room. How did she even hear me? "It's called mother's intuition."

"Bloody heck," I muttered, and Mum sent me a sharp look. "Sorry, Mum!"

Suddenly, the Floo lit up, and Remus and his parents stepped out.

"Moony!" Sirius greeted enthusiastically. "Guess what!? Guess, go on, guess!"

"Er… you… ate a lot of candy?" Remus suggested.

"No- well, yes, but that's not what I want you to guess!" Sirius grinned widely. "I get to live with James! I don't have to go back! I can stay here!"

"That's wonderful, Padfoot!" Remus beamed. "No more of your parents! Good riddance, I say- no offense, Regulus- those people were absolutely horrible, honestly, the Cruciatus Curse!"

Sirius's smile faded.

"How- how did you know?" he asked. Remus balked, and looked at me guiltily. "Oh. How did _you_ know?"

"Doesn't matter," I said stiffly. "What matter is that you're away from them."

"Yeah," Sirius said slowly. "I guess…"

"Sirius, you shouldn't be upset James and Remus know, they haven't treated you any different!" Lily scolded. "Apologize!"

"He doesn't need to," I smiled at Sirius reassuringly.

"James has been treating me differently," Sirius declared. I flinched. I had been treating him differently, but not for the reason he thought. "He's been giving me weird looks all year. And every time he blanks out, it's around me."

Remus and I exchanged looks, and Lily sighed.

"That's different, Sirius," she frowned, her eyes silently pleading for me to explain. "And it's up to James to tell you, and only if he wants."

"I want to!" I said desperately. "But- well, I don't know how you'd react."

"Well, then, Potter has a secret?" Snape sneered, but he seemed interested. "It seems Pettigrew is the only Marauder without one."

Remus blanched. Sirius sent Snape a glare.

"It seems so," I agreed. "Lucky Pete."

"Well," Sirius frowned. "It seems _my_ secret is pretty much out in the open."

Snape scoffed. "Black, most of Slytherin knows how your parents treat you."

"Oh," Sirius sighed, slumping into the couch. "Well… must've been Bellatrix, bloody snake. That means the bloody Death Eaters know too. Joy oh joy."

"Sirius! Language!" Mum called again from across the room. I gave Sirius a satisfied smirk as he gawked at her.

"Mother's intuition," I reported. "Is going to be our downfall."

"I heard that James!"

The Floo then lit up again (saving me from Mum's wrath) and Peter stepped out.

"My parents couldn't come," he said. "Thank goodness, they'd've brought my sister! She's a nightmare!"

"Urgh, my parents brought Petunia," Lily replied, sending Petunia a distasteful look. "I'd bet she'll be in a sour mood all day."

"I wouldn't doubt it," I agreed. Sirius snickered slightly, and I gave him a look. Something was up. "Er, Pads, can we talk? In my room?"

"Er… sure thing, Prongs!" Sirius replied enthusiastically. It seemed forced. He followed me up to my room, and we sat down on the bed.

"Okay," I said. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Sirius lied defiantly, and I groaned and rubbed my forehead. "What?"

"Sirius, you can't lie unless your life depends on it," I sighed, blinking rapidly as my mind filled with memories again. I blocked them as best I could, instead focusing on my friend, who was not in any danger- as far as I knew.

"Oh," Sirius deflated, shoulders slumping, eyes dulling slightly. I winced. "I… er… why are you so… distant? I mean, I know you told me that you didn't hate me but-"

"Not this again!" I groaned. "Sirius, I don't hate you! I will _never_ hate you. Is that what this is about?"

"Not completely," Sirius admitted. "I, er, was wondering… do your parents…?"

"Oh," I frowned. "Sirius, my parents are nothing like yours. I can promise you Mum and Dad will never hit you, and they certainly won't use the Cruciatus," I paused. "It was bad, wasn't it?"

"It hurts, James," Sirius sighed. "That my own parents hate me so much that they're willing to torture me. That they would willingly disown me," I gave him a look. "No, I know they have already. They told me every day I was worthless. I didn't deserve happiness. Or friends. And I certainly didn't deserve their love. The tortured me because they said I deserved it, and, for the longest time, I believed them."

"Oh, Siri," I murmured, wrapping my arms around him. "Nobody deserves that, especially not you," my voice was shaking, and I could hardly hold back the tears. "You aren't worthless. You're my brother. You're worth more than any of them added together. If they think that, well, then they don't deserve _your_ love. I couldn't be happier I met you, Sirius. You deserve so much more than that."

Sirius leaned into my hug and, for the first time, I realized he was crying.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice muffled through my shirt. "I shouldn't be telling you all this, it's Christmas, you don't need to hear all my childish troubles."

"They aren't childish, Siri," I soothed, rubbing his back. "They're perfectly understandable. Tell you what- do you want to go steal some cookie dough from the kitchen?"

Sirius shook his head, and I realized just how much this had affected him.

"I hate them, Prongs, I hate them so much," Sirius whispered, and I almost didn't hear him. "But they're my parents. Why would they treat me like that? What did I ever do to them?"

"Oh, Padfoot," I murmured. "Oh, my poor, poor friend. It isn't your fault, Pads, it's theirs."

"How do you know?" Sirius sniffled, pulling away. He looked embarrassed. "I've ruined your shirt."

"Nah," I chuckled. "I'll just change, it'll come out."

"I'm sorry," Sirius muttered. "I've ruined your Christmas too."

"Sirius, honestly, quit apologizing!" I put a hand on his shoulder, smiling comfortingly. "It's _not your fault_. And you haven't ruined my Christmas. And don't be embarrassed, everyone deserves to sob like a baby at one point or another."

"Yes, thanks, that helps my wounded ego so much," Sirius replied sarcastically, and I was pleased to see a small smile on his lips. "You're a great friend, James."

"Why thank you," I said arrogantly, and Sirius grinned full out and punched me lightly on the shoulder. "Shall we go join the rest of our friends before they get curious and start looking for us?"

"I'm hardly friends with Snape," Sirius scoffed. "Gosh, I must look a mess."

"You do," I confirmed. "Ask my mum to fix you up, she works miracles, I swear."

* * *

Sirius calmed down loads after we got downstairs and I got Blinky to sneak him some cookie dough. I got some cookie dough, too, so we were both hyper and happy. Remus had had chocolate, too, so poor Lily, Peter, Regulus, and Severus had to deal with three hyperactive Marauders.

"James, what did you talk to Sirius about?" Lily asked. "Did you tell him?"

"Nah," I said. "Just some family stuff; confidential, y'know."

"Of course," Lily smiled. "Well, then, if that's all settled, what do you say to a snowball fight?"

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Sirius yelled, rushing over with a spoonful of cookie dough. "Yes! That's a brilliant idea. MOONY! Let's go outside! Haha! I'm gonna win, you'll see!"

"Right," I grinned. "Well, then, I'm sure you wouldn't protest to all of us versus you?"

"What!? No!" Sirius yelped, grabbing my arm. "I call Prongs!"

"Oi! I'm not an item, you know!" I said indignantly. "Fine then, Lils, you're on our team."

"I'll team with Sev and Peter then," Regulus declared. "And Remus can be commentator- like in Quidditch!"

"Yes," Remus grinned evilly. "Just like in Quidditch."

"Mum!" I called. "We're going outside!"

"Oh no you don't!" Mum cried, stalking over and whipping out her wand. "Not in those outfits!"

I rolled my eyes as Mum said a few spells, and we were all fully decked out in winter cloaks. "Great, thanks, Mum. Can we go now? We want to have a snowball fight."

Mum's eyes were twinkling, and she beamed. "Of course, dear. You can use the Quidditch pitch."

"You lot have a Quidditch pitch!?" Sirius grinned widely. "Yes! I am _so_ glad I live here now!"

"We are not playing Quidditch in this weather, Sirius Black!" Lily warned. Sirius smiled, but left the room and returned with his new broom nonetheless. "Ugh, you never listen, do you?"

"Nope," Sirius replied cheekily. Mum chuckled, and returned to talking with Remus's and Lily's mums. "Alright, James, get you broom! We can play in the air!"

"But I left my broom at home," Regulus whined.

"No worries, we have extras," I declared. "Like five. Should be enough- let's see, Lily, Reg, Severus, Remus and Peter- yeah, just enough!"

"I'll go get them," Lily volunteered. I smiled and nodded; she was the only one besides me who knew her way perfectly around the Manor, having lived here for a year until it was burned to the ground.

"Er… does she know where she's going?" Sirius asked, looking flabbergasted. I just nodded once more, as Lily returned with the broomsticks.

"Obviously, Black," Snape drawled. "Well, I suppose if we must fly, then I'll do it."

"Sev, just grab a broom," Lily laughed, and Snape gratefully took a broomstick. Lily then passed them out to everyone else. She then beamed and handed me my Cleansweep. "Well, James, shall we go?"

"Yes, we shall," I replied, grabbing her hand. I led the way out to the Quidditch pitch, along with Lily, who knew the way. There was a lot of snow on the ground, but the pitch itself only had about an inch of snow- niot much cushion should one of us fall, but I doubted anyone would fall.

"Nice," Sirius grinned. "I'm gonna love it here, Prongs."

"Everyone, mount your brooms!" Remus called, his voice magically amplified. We beamed, got into our teams, and mounted our brooms. "Alright! So, it's team Gryffindor versus team Slytherin!"

"Hey!" Peter cried. "I'm a Gryffindor!"

"Sorry, Pete, but you're outnumbered," Remus replied. "Gryffindor team: Potter, Black, and Evans! Slytherin: Snape, Black, and Pettigrew! Ready- set- get throwing!"

Sirius, Lily, and I immediately zoomed away to grab snowballs, as did the 'Slytherins'. Sirius grinned, displaying an armful of them. I nodded approvingly, and motioned towards our opponents. Sirius got the drift, and started pelting snowballs at them. He was quickly countered by his brother. Moments later, I joined them with my own armful, pelting Peter, who raised his arms defensively, dropping his snowballs.

"Potter and Black are making numerous hits- oh, and here comes Evans! Pettigrew seems to have lost his weapons, and is defenseless! Nope- he's going off field for more snow! Oh, but Snape is pelting Evans!"

I chuckled. Remus's commentary always was wonderful.

"Look out Potter! Pettigrew's back in business!"

I laughed as I was pelted with snowballs from Peter, who brightened at actually having hit his target. Regulus and Sirius looked like they were having a ton of fun- throwing snowballs relentlessly at each other, laughing and taunting.

Suddenly, one of Regulus's snowballs hit Sirius broom, and I knew what was going to happen a split second before it did. Sirius's broom spun out of his, and Sirius lost his grip.

"What the- someone! Sirius is falling!"

I raced forward as fast as I could, as did Regulus, Lily, Peter, and even Snape. I knew we weren't going to be fast enough. Sirius hit the ground with a resounding crack.

"SIRIUS!"

**A/N: Yeah. Okay. Throw as many rotten fruits as you'd like. I know, that was horrible about me. I feel horrible doing that to Siri. But, you know, sometimes my mind is cruel. It fit. This chapter really sucked for Sirius… O.o Well, thank you to N.E. Person, Lovewriting12, potterhead934, Theta-McBride, and weasleychick32 for reviewing- over fifty review people! Thank you all so much! To commemorate this occasion, all my reviewers get a virtual Firebolt (or, if you don't play Quidditch, a virtual Sirius and James plushie)! Hope you all enjoyed (and don't kill me for hurting Sirius)!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**


	12. Chapter 12

"SIRIUS!" I screamed, hopping off my broom before I even reached the ground, stumbling forward to kneel by Sirius's still form. He was pale, his arm twisted in an odd angle, and there was a trickle of blood coming from somewhere on his head, staining the snow. "No! Sirius, wake up!"

"Sirius!" Regulus wailed. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to kill you! You were always my favorite relative! I'm sorry!"

"Regulus," Lily said, after carefully checking Sirius's pulse. "Sirius isn't dead, Reg."

"But look at him!" Regulus howled. "He's dead, I know he is! I killed my brother! I didn't mean to! My poor brother, I killed him!"

"Regulus, shut it," I snapped shakily. "Sirius isn't dead," I paused, and turned towards the house. "MUM! MUM, HELP!"

Within seconds, Mum was sprinting outside, reaching us in record speed. She took one look at Sirius, and immediately went into Healer mode, conjuring a stretcher and levitating Sirius onto it. She glanced at me, shaking ad probably pale as a sheet, and conjured another stretcher.

"Hop up, James," she ordered. I shook my head, opening my mouth to protest. "No buts, James. You look about to collapse, and I wouldn't be surprised if you did."

"Did I kill James too?" Regulus cried.

"Regulus, no one is dead," Mum assured him, to no avail. She sighed. "On second thought, all three of you need help."

"Sirius!" Regulus sobbed, as Mum levitated him on a stretcher. Mum gestured to the remaining stretcher, and, figuring I'd rather be closer to Sirius, I climbed on and sat cross-legged, reaching over and grabbing my best friend's hand. Still warm, I told myself, not dead.

"James, Sirius will be fine," Mum assured me. I ignored her, desperately trying to block out the memories. Sirius, cold, pale, bleeding, dead. I clutched his hand tighter, trying to focus on the slightly ragged but still present breathing "James?"

Regulus was muttering hopelessly beside me, "He's dead. I killed him. He's dead."

I shook my head. He wasn't dead. He wouldn't die. Not this time. I wouldn't allow it.

"_James?"_

"_Is he…?"_

"_He is dead."_

"_Oh, James, I'm so sorry."_

_Dead, cold, gone forever. Not Sirius. Not my brother. Not Sirius._

"_Wake up, Siri! You said you'd always be there!"_

_He's gone, he's dead, my best friend was dead._

"_Mr. Potter, are you alright?"_

_He was never coming back. He was dead. Gone. Lost._

_Sirius was dead._

* * *

"James? Ah, good, he's waking up," I groaned, and sat up groggily, vaguely recognizing that I was on the couch. Remus and Lily were standing over me, and Regulus was asleep on a chair nearby, face tear-stained. Snape was standing off to the side, looking awkward.

"Hey," I said. "What happened?"

"You, er, fainted again," Remus replied. "Flashbacks, I guess?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "Flashbacks…"

"Fate is cruel," Lily frowned. "To have this happen, just when you were getting better. I fear you'll get worse…"

"Hmm," I glanced at Regulus. "What about Reg?"

"He passed out too," Snape declared. "No one could convince him you and Black weren't dead. At least you weren't hysterical, Potter."

"I've told you, call me James," I smiled weakly at Snape, who looked surprised. "Where's Sirius?"

"Your mum's working on him, along with a couple other Healers," Lily answered. "She didn't think you'd be too happy if she took him to St. Mungo's."

"How is he?" I asked quietly.

"I don't know," Lily replied softly. "I'm sure it isn't bad, James."

"Lily's right," I glanced up. Mum had just entered the room. "James, it's nothing too bad, and certainly nothing irreversible. Broken arm, concussion, a couple broken ribs. He'll be absolutely fine."

I sighed in relief, slumping back into the couch. "Thank goodness you're a Healer, Mum."

"Yes, or I wouldn't have had the common sense to put you on a stretcher," Mum said, giving me a cross look. "Otherwise Sirius wouldn't be the only one with a concussion."

"Yeah, yeah," I chuckled half-heartedly. "Next time I'll listen right away."

Mum's face softened. "How are you, Jamie?"

"Fine," I replied, automatically blocking off my face. "As good as I'll ever be, considering exactly what seeing him like that reminds me of."

"Should I leave?" Snape asked tactfully. Mum smiled at him, and nodded. Snape nodded tightly, and left the room, followed immediately by Petunia, whom I hadn't noticed until now. She sent me a calculating look on the way out.

"Where's Pete?" I glanced around. Peter was nowhere to be seen.

"Peter is helping in the kitchen," Remus snickered. "Because Blinky promised he could lick the bowl."

"That's Peter, alright."

"James," Mum said seriously. "Really, don't block me out. I know that shook you, reminded you of Sirius's death in your timeline."

"You think?" I snapped. "Maybe, seeing him so pale and _bleeding_ on the ground reminded me of exactly how he looked that night? Maybe my mind immediately went to his face, eyes staring at me- but he was dead! Dead!"

"James," Lily put a comforting hand on mine. "It's okay to talk about it."

"I know," I sighed heavily. "This sucks. Now the memories are back, and worse than ever!"

"Oh, Jamie," Mum smiled sadly. "I wish there was something I could do. Try putting your memories in the Penseive, it might dim them."

"I don't think anything could dim those memories," I said darkly. "I'll never forget."

"It's worth a shot," Remus pointed out.

"It is," I admitted. "And if someone looks in the Penseive?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Lily said. Just then, I heard a moan from across the room.

"What happened? Where's Sirius?" It seemed Regulus had woken up. "Where's James?"

"Over here, Reg," I called. He hopped up, and rushed over, hugging me tightly.

"James!" he cried. "You're alive! I didn't kill you!"

"Nope, you can't off me that easily," I laughed lightly. "Oi, Reg, you're suffocating me."

"Sorry," Regulus blushed, pulling away and looking around. "Where's Sirius!? Oh no! I _did_ kill him! I killed my brother!"

"Regulus, relax," Mum shook her head, chuckling. "Sirius will be perfectly fine. Merlin, you are just like James."

I opened my mouth to protest.

"No, James, he is," I shut my mouth, and scowled half-heartedly. "You both overreacted."

"I'd hardly say I overreacted, all things considered," I defended myself. "Reggie is overreacting. We told him Sirius wasn't dead."

"He looked pretty dead," Regulus shuddered. "I never want to see something like that again."

"Neither do I," I whispered. Regulus had been one of the first besides me to see Sirius after his death. He'd been just as distraught as I was.

"Can we go see him?" Regulus asked. Mum rose and eyebrow.

"He's still unconscious," she declared. "Going to see him would be about as useful as trying to tear James away from Quidditch."

"I'm not that Quidditch obsessed."

"Really? Was it not you who said, and I quote, 'It isn't a sport! It's a way of life!'?" Lily teased, poking me in the shoulder. "You and Sirius live and breathe Quidditch, I swear."

"No we don't!" I protested. "At least, I don't. There are more important things like… friends and family."

"True," Lily chuckled.

"I want to see my brother," Regulus said determinedly. "I don't care if he's awake or not."

"I'd like to see him too," I agreed. "Just to reassure myself he's alive."

"You were scared, too?" Regulus gasped.

"Course I was, Reg," I smiled. "What, did you think I was emotionless?"

"No… it's just," Regulus seemed to be trying to find the words. "You're Gryffindor! Gryffindor's aren't scared of anything! They're _brave_!"

"Being brave doesn't mean you aren't afraid," I told him. "Being brave means facing your fears. Being brave means not giving up when you're scared. Being brave means always doing what's right, no matter the consequence."

"…Oh," Regulus said, looking thoughtful. "James…?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think I'd make a good Gryffindor?" he asked. "Or am I just a coward?"

"You aren't a coward," I assured him. "I'm sure you'd make a great Gryffindor."

"Thanks, James," Regulus smiled. "Well, Mrs. Potter, lead the way."

"Of course," said Mum. "And, Regulus, do call me Aunt Carol."

* * *

"You're sure he's not dead?" Regulus asked the moment he saw Sirius. I nodded, walking over to sit behind my friend. "He looks pretty dead."

"No, look," I said, pointing towards Sirius. "He's breathing. I think he's just asleep."

"Yeah… he's not dead, then," Regulus replied, smiling. "Look, I wonder what those bandages are for?"

"On his chest? I dunno," I shrugged. "Mum says Healers do that."

"You think he'll wake up soon?" Regulus asked. "Cause he still looks dead."

"Regulus, do you even know what a dead person looks like?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Er… no," Regulus blushed. "I don't. But you don't either, I bet!"

"Actually," I said, lowering my eyes. "I do."

"I don't doubt that, Prongs," My head shot up so fast I swore I head a snap. Sirius was awake, and grinning weakly at us. "Hullo, you two."

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Pads," I beamed. Regulus nodded enthusiastically. "You alright?"

"Feels like a Hippogriff ran me over," Sirius groaned, trying to sit up, before falling back onto the bed. "Merlin, didn't your mum heal me?"

"She said she did," Regulus said unsurely.

"I'd bet she isn't done yet," I shrugged, and gestured to the bandages. "Bet that's why you're all bandaged up."

"She's not gonna make me stay in bed all break?"

"It's your own fault for falling off your broom, mate," I grinned cheekily. "Nearly gave Regulus and me bloody heart attacks!"

"Oh, well. No harm, no foul," Sirius chuckled. Regulus glanced down. "Oi, Reggie, what's wrong?"

"It's my fault you fell," he muttered. "I got you hurt."

"Nah, I lost control," Sirius laughed. "Hardly your fault."

"He was hysterical," I informed Sirius, and Regulus turned red. "He was screaming about how he killed you. He fainted."

"Shut up, you fainted first," Regulus scowled good-naturedly. "Again! This is the second time this year you've fainted, James."

"Must be something wrong with you, mate," Sirius teased, but he looked uneasy. "Anyways, where's Mrs. Potter? She needs to go ahead and bloody heal me."

"Play it up," I suggested. "Oh! I could punch you in the ribs."

"Yeah, you do that," Sirius snickered. "I'd like to see you try. You wouldn't," I smirked, and raised a fist. "Bloody heck, James, I was joking! Don't _actually_ hit me!"

"I know; I wouldn't _reall_y hurt you," I assured him.

"Hmm…. That is a good idea, though," Sirius mused. "You know, actually, punch me."

"No!" I exclaimed. "Honestly, Sirius, it was a joke."

"Well, then you fix me."

"I don't know how to heal you," I replied. "Besides, there's probably a reason you aren't healed yet. It probably takes time. Patience is a virtue, Padfoot."

"Besides, you've had worse," Regulus pointed out. Sirius scowled. "It's true."

"Whatever," Sirius muttered. "So, Prongs, what I'd like to know is where you've seen a dead body."

"That is classified," I answered, avoiding his curious grey eyes. "I'd rather not talk about it, okay?"

"I understand," Sirius smiled reassuringly. "Not many people would… can you see the Thestrals?"

"Er… I dunno," I shrugged. "I haven't looked."

"Well, you can always see when we get back," Regulus said. "Tell me what it looks like! I'd love to see them."

"No you wouldn't," I replied bluntly. "Unless you'd like to see someone die."

Regulus paled, and Sirius's eyes widened.

"You've seen someone die?" Sirius gasped. "But- when? And who?"

I took a shaky breath, and grabbed Sirius's hand. "It doesn't matter. He- he's happy right now, I know he is… It was… a bit ago. It was- it was hard."

"I'm sorry," Sirius said, squeezing my hand. I found it ironic that he was sitting here comforting me about his own death. "I know there's nothing I could say that will help. Uncle Alphard- you remember him, right?- died this summer."

"I'm sorry," I replied. I hadn't remembered that, but, yes, that had happened, hadn't it? "I didn't know."

"It's fine," Sirius smiled. "He died in his sleep. I know he's happy."

"I'm sorry, James," Regulus frowned, looking quite upset. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, it's okay," I assured him. "I- a lot of things remind me," I glanced at Sirius. "You remind me a lot of him, Pads. A whole lot."

"That's why you keep freaking out around me?" Sirius's eyes lit up in realization. "Oh! No wonder. Gee, what about me reminds you of him?"

"Everything," I laughed lightly, finding the irony of the situation very, very funny. "He was… he was a great person. He saved my life, more than once. Be glad you're like him."

"Am I like anyone?" Regulus asked eagerly. I chuckled.

"You," I said, ruffling Regulus's hair. "Are just like his brother."

"He had a brother!?"

Sirius and I exchanged amused glances, then started laughing. Regulus blushed, before laughing along with us. I was glad we could all get along.

**A/N: I'm back! Siri isn't dead! Or even really all that hurt (no matter how much he plays it up). Sirius and Regulus know half the truth, and the irony is crazy! **** Thanks to Theta-McBride, N.E. Person, icecatfire, potterhead934, weasleychick32, and peevesisawesome for reviewing! Free Reggie and Siri plushies (virtual, of course)! Hope you all liked!**


	13. Chapter 13

It'd been two weeks since Sirius had fallen off his broom. We were all back at school, and I was back to having nightly nightmares. The only upside is that Remus would usually wake me up quickly. Unfortunately, another Hogsmeade weekend was coming up- I hadn't gone to the first or the second, worrying about the memories. But Sirius was insisting I come.

"Prongs, it'll be fun," he insisted. "You were looking forward to this all year last year! What suddenly changed?"

"Lots," I said. "Isn't there anything else we can do?"

"We could sneak out to Diagon Alley," Sirius suggested brightly. I nodded. That wasn't too bad of an idea; after all, Diagon Alley didn't remind me of Sirius's death.

"No, you couldn't," Lily declared. "It's against the rules."

"Since when have we cared about the rules?" Sirius let out a barking laugh. "C'mon, you wanna invite anyone else?"

"Er… Remus, Peter, and Regulus?" I suggested. "Since Lily obviously doesn't want to come."

Lily just frowned, and crossed her arms. "By all means, get yourselves in trouble. I'm not saving your skins."

"Don't worry, we won't need saving," Sirius replied cheekily. "C'mon, James, let's go get the others."

We rushed out of the common room, leaving Lily rolling her eyes. Remus and Peter were already at the Gryffindor table, and it seemed Regulus had just walked in. Sirius beamed, and beckoned him over, and all three of us sat down by Remus and Peter. Peter looked curiously at Regulus, before shrugging, and going back to his food.

"I won't get in trouble for sitting here, right?" Regulus asked, glancing nervously at the staff table. I smiled warmly at him, and shook my head.

"Nah," Sirius laughed, ruffling his brother's hair. "But we might get in trouble if we're caught at Diagon Alley today."

"What are you talking about?" Remus asked bemusedly.

"Prongs here doesn't want to go to Hogsmeade- still!" Sirius exclaimed. "So, we're going to Diagon Alley instead. What do you all say?"

"What's so great about Diagon Alley?" Regulus asked.

"Why," I grinned. "Have you ever been on a Marauder tour of Diagon Alley?"

Regulus's eyes widened. "A Marauder tour? Wicked! I'm in!"

"I'm in too," Peter beamed. "It'll be fun. Moony?"

"Well," Remus sighed. "I suppose if you're all going, _someone_ must go to keep you all in line. I'm in."

* * *

"Welcome to Diagon Alley!" I exclaimed. "And to your official Marauder tour."

"Where should we go first?" Peter asked eagerly. I was smiling; nothing could go wrong today. I wouldn't faint, and we could all enjoy ourselves. "Gambol and Japes?"

"Quality Quidditch Supplies!" Sirius piped in. "I want a new broom care kit!"

"Florean Fortescue's!" Remus added. "Chocolate would be much appreciated."

"What's Gambol and Japes?" Regulus asked. Sirius and I gawked at him. He blushed. "Er… what?"

"Gambol and Japes! It's a prank shop!" Sirius exclaimed. "Not quite Zonko's, but still! Pranks!"

"Mum and Dad don't like pranks," Regulus said, shrugging his shoulders. "Can we go?"

"Gambol and Japes it is, then," Peter beamed. Remus looked slightly cross, but he grinned and shrugged. Peter jumped into the lead, and I smiled. However, we'd only gotten past Quality Quidditch Supplies when there was a loud shout.

"Death Eaters!" I spun on my heel, whipping my wand out fast as lightning. Remus and Sirius had their wands out immediately as well, and Peter and Regulus fumbled slightly, grabbing their wands out of their pockets. The attack on Diagon Alley was supposed to be a while ago! Why was it happening now?

The Alley was soon being filled with dark cloaked figures and red and green lights. My heart pounding, I turned to the others, any humor gone.

"Don't let your guard down," I ordered. "We have to get to the Leaky Cauldron to Floo back. Do not split up! Shoot first, ask questions later. Don't lose your heads."

The others seemed so scared that they agreed without a second thought. I was sending spells everywhere, mostly stunners and disarmers. Sirius seemed to not have a problem, shooting spells at any cloaked figure. Remus was decent as well, and Peter managed a few spells, but Regulus was terrified.

"What do we do?" He asked, panicking. "They're everywhere!"

"Just keep moving forward," I said. "Stick together!"

"Reggie, grab my hand," Sirius ordered, and I saw out of the corner of my eye that Regulus had no problem following hid directions. "Right- James, duck!"

"Got it," I said, ducking and sending a stunner at the nearest Death Eater. There was a loud cackle, and I recognized it immediately. Bellatrix. I let out a deep growl. "Crud. Sirius, your cousin is here!"

"Urgh, Bella," Sirius crinkled his nose. "You think we could take her on?"

"Sirius!" Remus chided. "We've got to get back to Hogwarts- just keep moving."

"No use putting ourselves- _stupefy_!- in danger, Sirius," I exclaimed. "I don't want anyone getting hurt."

"Bellatrix is insane," Regulus said. "She always had been."

"I know," I replied darkly, sending the unknowing Bellatrix a hateful glare. "Bloody snake… she- well, she did something unforgiveable."

Sirius snorted. "Yeah, that's new."

"Look!" Peter exclaimed. "The Leaky Cauldron!"

"Finally!" Regulus cried. Just then, a red jet of light hit him, and he fell forward. Sirius caught him.

"Reggie!" He cried. I turned around, quickly checking Regulus's vitals. "Is he alright?"

"He's just unconscious," I said in relief. "Sirius, can you carry him?"

"Yeah," Sirius picked up his brother, and cradled him carefully in his arms. "You're sure he's alright?"

"My mum's a Healer," I pointed out. "But, remember, I'd know if he were dead. And besides, he's breathing fine. Judging by the color of the light, I'd say he was hit with a simple stunner."

"Alright," Sirius sighed. "I worry about him sometimes, he's so naïve…"

"Regulus is tougher than he looks," I chuckled. "And he cares about a lot. You should of seen him over break; he was hysterical, thinking he'd killed you."

"He thought you were dead, too, James," Remus chuckled. "Regulus is a nice kid."

"Even if he is a Slytherin," Peter added. "He's a nice Slytherin. I've never met a nice Slytherin."

"I think I'd make a decent Slytherin," I mused.

"Yes, considering your oh so cunning plan that I've already figured out," Remus snickered. "Because you were oh so secretive."

"Shut it, you're an eavesdropper," I scowled good-naturedly. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a purple jet of light headed our way. "Ack! Moony, duck!"

"Forgot we were in the middle of a battle here," Sirius joked, as a green jet of light missed him all too closely. "Ooh, watch out! I think they've noticed us."

"You think?" I said sarcastically.

"Is that my ickle cousin I hear?" I winced; Sirius was right, they'd noticed us. I caught sight of Bellatrix skipping over, and stepped protectively in front of my friends. Sirius wasn't having that, though. He handed Regulus to Remus, and stepped up slightly in front of me.

"James, you take the others back to Hogwarts-"

"Excuse me!?" I exclaimed. "I'm not leaving you here, Sirius!"

"Guys, let's all just get back," Remus suggested. "We can all be safe."

"Bellatrix needs to be distracted," Sirius said determinedly.

"Sirius," I grabbed his arm. "Really, we can't stay. I don't- I don't want you to get hurt. Or… or worse…"

"These people are in danger!" Sirius roared, yanking his arm away. I winced. "You can't just expect me to leave them!"

"Sirius, you're a third year," Remus replied sensibly. "You can't do much, not more than get yourself killed!"

"I can do enough!" Sirius growled. "I can distract them, let others get away. Like you lot- go on, tell Dumbledore what's happening. I could care less if I die-"

"Sirius, you bloody noble git," I exclaimed, blinking back tears. Of course he'd insist on staying. Of course he'd bring up bitter memories. "What if you actually _did_ die? How do you think we'd feel? How _I'd_ feel?"

Sirius faltered, his expression softening. "James, I… I won't get myself killed. I promise, I wouldn't do that to you guys… I… I can't just not help…"

"I'm not leaving if you aren't," I said defiantly. "You aren't going to risk your neck while I'm safe."

"C'mon, James, really?" Sirius groaned. "I'd be much happier risking my neck if I knew you were safe. Besides, you have to help Reggie out. I think he trusts you a lot, he'd be distraught if both of us were gone."

"Then, we both go back," I argued. "Or I stay and help these people. I'd rather risk my own neck than let you risk yours."

"Guys," Peter piped in nervously. "This really isn't the time to be arguing…"

I turned to Peter. "You're exactly right, Pete. So, what do you say? We all go ba- Sirius? Oh, crud, not again!"

"He's gone!" Remus exclaimed. "How in the world- he snuck off!"

"Or was taken," Peter whimpered. "Do you think he was taken?"

"No, he snuck off to distract the Death Eaters! Does he really think we won't look for him?" I asked sarcastically. "Alright, Moony, Wormtail, you take Reg back to the school. I'll go look for Sirius- Merlin, this is a familiar situatioIf he gets himself killed…"

Remus looked desperately between me and Regulus, before evidently deciding Regulus should probably get back to the school. "Alright, James, but be careful. We'll send Dumbledore."

I smiled shakily, trying to rid myself of the horrible memories. This was not the time to pass out. "I will. I'll go get Sirius before he gets himself killed."

"Good luck," Peter said, and I ran off, searching the streets, and stunning Death Eaters. I recognized on who'd played a part in Sirius's murder, and hit him with a particularly nasty cutting curse Finally, I spotted Sirius. He was dueling Bellatrix, and I felt dread coursing through my veins.

"_Stupefy!_" I yelled. Unfortunately, all I did was draw attention to myself. Bellatrix cackled evilly. "Get away from my brother, you bloody snake!"

"Your brother?" She sneered. "Last I check, Potter, Sirius is a Black- a disowned Black, which is all the more reason for me to kill him!"

"Don't you dare!" I cried angrily, taking a threatening step forward. "Don't hurt a hair on his head!"

"James, relax!" Sirius exclaimed. "Why aren't you back at Hogwarts!?"

"Like I'd leave you," I scoffed, shooting another stunner at Bellatrix. "Bloody heck woman, get lost! _Stupefy! Sectumsempra! Levicorpus! Reducto!_"

"Woah, Prongs, don't get too violent," said Sirius. "Gee, you really seem to hate my cousin- woah!"

Sirius dodged as a spell shot past his shoulder.

"Watch out cousin!" Bellatrix said, her voice sickeningly sweet. "Don't want to be hurt, now, do we? _Crucio_!"

The jet of red light that narrowly missed my best friend's head fueled my anger, raising it to horrible rage. "Leave Sirius alone- _sectumsempra! Reducto! Stupefy!_"

I actually got a hit that time, and Bellatrix's shoulder was sliced open. She screeched angrily, but instead of brandishing her wand at me, she pointed it at Sirius. "_Avada Kadavra!_"

Sirius seemed taken by surprise, frozen as the green light sped towards him. My blood froze, and I started running forward. I couldn't let him die again. I wouldn't. He wouldn't die, he couldn't die, he couldn't die.

The last thing I remember before the world went black was a shout of, "Dumbledore!", a bright light, and hitting the hard ground, clutching Sirius tightly to me with no idea if he was even alive.

**A/N: Please don't kill me! *hides behind chair* I'm sorry, I know, I'm evil. Just, er, don't be too mad at me…. Tell you what, because of this awful cliffhanger, all my readers can have a virtual Bellatrix plushie to rip apart! And, thank you so much to my reviewers, peevesisawesome, Theta-McBride, Lovewriting12, krikanalo, weasleychick32, jeremiah123, potterhead934, and N.E. Person! You lot get not only the Bellatrix plushie, but also a virtual pack of Zonko's products to be used for your pranking pleasure! Hope you all enjoyed! Please don't kill me!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**


	14. Chapter 14

"Let us see them!"

"It's been forever! I want to see them!"

"Please, calm down, you cannot see them yet."

I groaned, and blinked my eyes open. I glanced around, assessing my situation. I was in the hospital wing, my chest was aching horribly, and my head was pounding painfully.

And Sirius was nowhere to be seen.

That could be expected, seeing as Madam Pomfrey had pulled the curtains around my bed. But still, I wanted to see Sirius. Was he alive? Was I able to save him?

"Hey!" I croaked, hoping I was loud enough. I was; there was a shuffle outside, and the curtains were shoved open to reveal Lily and Regulus's relieved faces.

"James!" Regulus exclaimed, rushing over before Lily even had the chance to walk in. "Oh thank goodness you're alright! I was so worried when Professor Dumbledore brought you and Sirius in!"

"Sirius!" I cried. "Where is he? Is he alright?"

"James," Lily said soothingly, and I immediately feared the worst. My face must've shown it, too. "Oh, no, no, he isn't dead, James. He's just injured, like you. He hasn't woken up yet. We weren't expecting you to wake for another day either."

"Another day?" I said faintly. "How long was I out?"

"Two days," Lily replied. "Bellatrix got you and Sirius both with some Dark curse before Dumbledore got there."

"Indeed," said Dumbledore gravely, walking in. "Her curse caused massive internal damage; for a while, Madam Pomfrey wasn't sure either of you would make it. I found you both on the ground, and for a moment, I feared you dead."

"Sirius will be okay, though?" I asked. "He won't… he won't… die?"

"Doubtfully," Dumbledore answered. "However, neither of you are completely out of the woods. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will be keeping you for a while."

"She wanted to send you both to St. Mungo's," Regulus added. "But your parents said that you would like it even less there than you do here."

"Yeah, that sounds just about right," I chuckled. "Merlin, my chest hurts. Whatever she did certainly worked."

"Yes," Dumbledore gave me a small smile. "Under the circumstances, I believe I will turn a blind eye; none of my students were in Diagon Alley today."

"Thank you sir," I said, and Dumbledore left, probably to tell Madam Pomfrey I was up. "This is all my fault. I agreed to go to Diagon Alley…"

"It isn't your fault, James," Lily replied, rubbing my hand. "If anything, it's mine for not trying hard enough to stop you from going."

"It's nobody's fault," Regulus declared. "No, actually, it's Bellatrix's fault."

"Hmm," I laid back into the pillow. "Say what you will."

"James, you have a self blame problem," Lily sighed. "Honestly, it isn't your fault!"

"Mr. Potter! You're up! Ooh, that Dumbledore, he should have told me!" I glanced up; Madam Pomfrey had come in, potions in her arms. "Alright, drink these. Don't give me that look- just drink them. I must go check on Mr. Black."

With that, she was gone. I looked at Lily hopefully, glancing wearily at the many potions on the table beside me. "Nope, James, drink them."

I sighed dramatically, and downed the potions. "Blech, gross…"

"If it gets you better, then it doesn't matter what it tastes like," Lily said chidingly. "You are immature."

"I try," I replied cheekily. Regulus snorted. "I'm so worried about Sirius… why hasn't he woken up yet? What if he dies because I couldn't protect him- again!"

"Sirius won't die," Lily assured me. "He's a strong boy- stronger than you, at least," I gave her a cross look. "It's true, though. If you can make it, he will."

"What if she got him with a worse curse?" I fretted. "Or Madam Pomfrey missed something while healing him? Maybe because his parents put him under the Cruciatus so often, he's vulnerable to this other dark curse. Or-"

"James!" Lily said sharply. "Just stop worrying. Sirius will be fine!"

"Siri wouldn't let a little curse get him," Regulus exclaimed. "Don't worry, James, he'll pull through, and so will you."

"I'm fine," I shrugged, before wincing. "Okay. Not that fine. I'd like to know what all is wrong with me… and, preferably, I'd like to see Sirius."

"James, you can't even sit up," Lily chuckled. "You can wait to see Sirius. I wouldn't be surprised if you passed out again, you aren't supposed to be awake."

"Yeah," I said, feeling slightly dizzy. "I'm fine though… perfectly… fine…"

* * *

I winced, sitting up slightly. I must have passed out. Lily and Regulus were gone, and Madam Pomfrey was bustling around near my bed. "Hullo."

"Mr. Potter!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, nearly dropping the potions she was carrying. "You're awake again!"

"How long was I out this time?"

"Not as long," she replied. "Only a few hours. It's the middle of the night."

"Has Sirius woken up?" I asked. Madam Pomfrey's stern expression softened.

"Yes, briefly," she answered. "But not for long, and he was slightly delirious. Don't worry, Mr. Potter. Mr. Black will be just fine."

"Thank goodness," I sighed. "How bad were our injuries?"

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips. "Well, you were both about the same. Several broken ribs, severe internal bleeding, some insignificant head damage- which would explain your headache, Mr. Potter. No lasting damage, I'm sure. You'll both be out of here in a week or two, depending on your condition."

"A week!?" I exclaimed, shooting up fast, before grabbing my ribs. "Ow…"

"If you keep doing that, it will be longer," said Madam Pomfrey sharply.

"But-" I frowned. "Quidditch!"

"Gryffindor has reserve chasers, don't they?" Madam Pomfrey replied. "You and Mr. Black are in no condition to play Quidditch!"

I slumped back against my pillow, disappointed. "But it's _Quidditch_."

"Hmm, and it's _your_ health," Madam Pomfrey retorted. "It's completely possible you'll be unconscious through the game. Honestly, it's just a game…"

"Just a game?" I cried. "It's Quidditch! It's an art form! A lifestyle! The very air we breathe!"

"And you'll survive missing one game," Madam Pomfrey declared crossly. "If you won't listen to me, then you can talk to your mother. I guarantee she'll say the same thing."

"No, let's not bring Mum into this," I said quickly. Madam Pomfrey gave me a triumphant nod. "Fine. But you'll get more of an argument from Pad- er, Sirius."

"Hmm, we'll see," Madam Pomfrey said. "Considering the fact that, should he argue, I'd be contacting your mother as well, I think he'll know better than to argue."

"That's true," I agreed. Just then, there was a groan, seemingly coming from the bed beside mine.

"Huh?" My eyes lit up; that was Sirius's voice. "Am I dead?"

Madam Pomfrey pulled open the curtain, and I could see Sirius in the bed beside me. He caught my eye, and looked very confused. "Are we dead, Prongs?"

"Nah," I replied, relieved that my friend was awake. "Just in the Hospital Wing, which really isn't where I'd like to end up when I die."

"Oh," Sirius said. "You saved me."

"I almost didn't," I frowned. "You almost died, Sirius."

"Yeah, today was crazy," Sirius laughed weakly.

"Actually, you've been unconscious all day today," I declared. "We were both out for two days, but I woke up earlier, then passed out again. And now we're both awake- congrats! You made it three days unconscious."

"Bloody heck," Sirius tried to sit up in his bed, before wincing, and laying back. "Any idea why I hurt so much- oh, hey, Madam Pomfrey. Let us out?"

"No, Mr. Black," Madam Pomfrey chided. "Neither of you can even sit up."

"We can-"

"-it just hurts!"

"So… when's the Quidditch game?" Sirius asked. "We'll be out by then?"

"Madam Pomfrey says we can't play Quidditch or she'll call Mum," I scowled. Sirius blanched. "Yep. And you know what Mum will say?"

"James Potter! Sirius Black! How dare you even think about playing Quidditch in your conditions! You could be really hurt!" Sirius mocked, making his voice higher in a failed imitation of Mum.

"Don't let her hear you imitating her," I warned. "You'll be grounded for life."

Madam Pomfrey chuckled. "I'll leave you two to talk. Do not leave."

She left, and Sirius and I exchanged devious smirks.

"Why don't we sneak back to our dorms?" Sirius suggested. "I hate the Hospital Wing."

"Good plan," I agreed. Sirius pulled of his covers, sat up, and slipped out of bed, standing shakily. He walked carefully over, helping me up. "Ouch!"

"You alright?" Sirius asked. I nodded, and leaned on him for support, wondering why he wasn't hurting. We limped together towards the door, and we nearly made it too, until Sirius stumbled and we both came tumbling to the floor. I grabbed my head, and Sirius clutched his chest, face screwed up in pain. I looked at him worriedly.

"I'm fine," he groaned. "Just fine."

"We both have a problem of saying we're fine when we aren't," I chuckled weakly. My head was pounding worse than ever, and the aching in my chest was more prominent, but Sirius looked really hurt- at least, in my skewed, overprotective opinion. I struggled to my feet, and pulled Sirius into my arms.

"I can walk, really," Sirius muttered, still clutching his chest. "I don't need to be carried."

"Yeah, sure," I retorted, carefully and painfully carrying Sirius (who was still too light for my liking) to his bed, laid him down, and laid back in my own bed, massaging my pounding head. "D'you think you're really hurt?"

"Nah," Sirius said, sounding strained. I raised an eyebrow. "No really!"

"Right," I replied, before taking in a painful breath. "That was a bad idea. MADAM POMFREY!"

I winced horribly right after I said that. So maybe yelling wasn't such a good idea. Madam Pomfrey came rushing in, and she scowled at us.

"You two tried to leave," she accused. I grinned sheepishly. Sirius nodded. "Well, let me see you then."

"I'm fine," Sirius insisted. "Check on James."

"Hmm, you're face says otherwise," Madam Pomfrey said crossly, but she listened to Sirius and checked over me first. "Mr. Potter, what will I do with you? I just fixed that concussion."

"Whoops?" I replied.

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Other than that, you've bruised one of your ribs again. Next time, maybe, you'll listen."

"Yeah, we will," I assured her. "Now check on Sirius. I think he's worse off."

"You two are going to be the death of me," Madam Pomfrey grumbled, checking over Sirius. "Well, you've gone and broken a few of your ribs again. That will be more Skelegro for you- and you'll be stuck here longer."

"Ah, well, that's great," Sirius groaned. "Prongs, next time I make a suggestion that is _obviously _a bad idea, stop me from doing it."

"Will do," I laughed. "Hey, Madam Pomfrey, have you got anything for my headache?"

"I'll be right back," she sighed. "Do-not-leave."

"Like I'd try that again," Sirius scoffed. "Er… well, at least not today. Maybe tomorrow Regulus and Wormtail can sneak us out."

"Why not Moony or Lily?"

"Because they'd say no," Sirius said simply. I started to nod my agreement, then decided against it, because nodding would worsen the pounding in my head. "Reggie and Pete would agree, they're good like that."

"You mean gullible," I replied, and Sirius stuck out his tongue at me.

"Yeah, sure," he grinned cheekily. "Whatever, I'm sneaking out tomorrow."

"By all means, mess up your ribs a bit more," I said sarcastically. "I'll be laughing when you're back in here moaning in pain."

"Nah, you wouldn't laugh at my pain," Sirius smiled. I gave him a dubious look. "Er…. You wouldn't… would you?"

"No, I wouldn't laugh at your pain," I chuckled. "Just at the fact that your escape attempt failed miserably."

"Oh, quiet you," Sirius retorted. "You just want to be good for your precious Lily flower."

"That's right," I smiled cheekily. "Besides, I prefer my head to not be pounding."

Sirius gave me a guilty look. "Sorry 'bout that, mate."

"Nah," I replied. "I imagine you're worse off."

"Oh, this?" Sirius asked, gesturing to his chest. "No, I've had worse."

"I don't doubt it," I muttered darkly, sitting up. "You're bloody parents are evil."

"How d'you know it was my parents?" Sirius challenged jokingly. I rolled my eyes. "Oh, fine, maybe it was."

"Mr. Potter!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, walking in with an armful of potions. "Lay down!"

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, grinning and laying back. "Er… please tell me those are all for Sirius."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at me, and Madam Pomfrey gave me a skeptical look.

"Okay," I sighed. "Not all for Sirius. Got it."

**A/N: See! I didn't kill either of them! And they'll be fine, even if they do have to miss Quidditch and stay in the Hospital Wing for a bit (no thanks to Sirius's escape attempt). Thanks to N.E. Person, weasleychick32, Theta-McBride, Accalia Silvermoon, Lovewriting12, jeremiah123, and potterhead934 for reviewing! You all get virtual ice cream cones! **** Hope you all liked this chapter!**

**I don't, nor will I ever, own Harry Potter.**


	15. Chapter 15

"James! James, wake up! Merlin, he's out like a light!"

"Where is he anyway? This doesn't look like the dorms."

"Maybe it's his room at home?"

"Maybe… haven't I been to his house before?"

"I dunno. Maybe he changed it up?"

"Nah, he wouldn't."

"Hey! He's waking up!"

I moaned, forcing my eyes open. Someone handed me my glasses, and I shoved them on my face, glad the pounding was gone. I glanced at my visitors. "Hey Moony, Reg."

"Hiya, Jamie!" Regulus said happily. "So… where are you? Looks kinda like the Hospital Wing."

"It is," I replied, raising an eyebrow. "You visited me yesterday- er, I think it was yesterday."

"Look at us closer, James," Remus said. I narrowed my eyes, then widened them.

"Bloody heck!" I exclaimed. "You're _older_!"

"No duh," Remus replied, rolling his eyes. "Dumbledore made something so we could visit. We're kind of like holograms."

"Holo-what-nows?" I asked, dumbfounded. Remus just chuckled.

"Never mind. So, how's Sirius?"

"About as well off as I am," I scowled. "Bloody noble git. There was an attack on Diagon Alley and he just _had_ to stay and help. He's lucky I stayed behind to save his skin."

"That sounds like Siri," Regulus laughed. "Well, where is he?"

"In the bed next to me," I said, jerking my head towards the curtains. Regulus grinned, and yanked them open. Sirius was still asleep, but Regulus walked slowly up to him, putting a small hand on his brother's face.

"Sirius," he whispered. "My brave, brave brother. I wish I could be like you, brother."

Remus pulled up a chair for Regulus, who sat down by Sirius, wiping his eyes.

"I know how you feel," I told him. "It was so hard to see him again the first time. I just wanted to hug him tight and never let go."

"Don't do that," Remus warned. "You'll wake him."

"I want to talk to him," Regulus sighed. "I wish he'd wake up. He looks so peaceful… just like…"

"Yeah," I smiled weakly. "At least you aren't hysterical."

"Huh?"

"Sirius fell off his broom a few weeks ago," I explained, stifling a laugh. "And Regulus, you were hysterical. You thought he was dead, and you were screaming, and then I fainted again, so apparently you were convinced that you'd killed us both."

"Ah," Regulus said, his face turning red. "Yeah… that sounds like me…"

"It does," Remus exclaimed, not bothering to hide his laughter. "That's brilliant! How long did it take to calm him down?"

"He passed out too," I chuckled. "He woke up after me, so he knew I was alive, and I had to explain to him that, yes, Sirius was perfectly fine."

"Oh, quiet, you lot," Regulus scowled half-heartedly, his face bright red. "I was twelve."

"True," I conceded. "Still funny."

"Ugh… Reggie?" My eyes snapped to Sirius's face. His eyes were fluttering open, and he was staring at Regulus. Who was fourteen. "Merlin, did you take an aging potion?"

"I… er…" Regulus looked caught off guard, staring at his brother like he'd seen a ghost. "Hullo, S-sirius…"

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked. He glanced at Remus and I. "Oh! Moony, you look older too."

"Um…" Remus glanced at me. "James…?"

"Don't ask me, this is your mess to clean up," I replied, holding up my hands. "Yours and Reggie's."

"Oi! Don't put this on me!" Regulus exclaimed. "You fix it, Jamie, you're better at fixing stuff."

"I am, aren't I?" I replied cheekily. "Sirius, take a wild guess."

"A wild guess, hmm?" Sirius grinned. "Let's see… you, James, are mysteriously from the future here to save my life and Regulus and Remus are visiting you from the future."

Remus choked on air, Regulus's eyes widened, and I burst out laughing.

"That _is_ a wild guess!" I exclaimed. "Sirius, where do you come up with these things?"

"I have a wild imagination," Sirius answered happily. "Amazing considering who raised me, I know. I have a couple of other theories too."

"That's great, Padfoot," Remus said in a strange voice. He shook his head. "We… er… tried a prank… and it backfired… so we're older."

"Makes sense," Sirius agreed. "Much more than my theory. Time travel! Imagine. Hey, James, you think you'd ever do that? If it came to that?"

"Yes," I replied without hesitation. I had done that. "Without a shadow of a doubt."

"That's nice of you," Sirius beamed. "But, you know, it might not work," I winced. "Things could go wrong… hmm, well, I'm sure it'll never come to that! Say, Moony, Reggie, how much homework have we missed?"

Remus froze.

"Er… I…" he glanced at me helplessly.

"I don't think he's asked yet," I said.

"Yeah, right," Sirius scoffed. "He has the classes. Oi, you aren't really from the future, right?"

There was an awkward silence.

"_Right?_" Sirius repeated, his voice slightly then higher than usual. "Why isn't anyone answering?"

"Well, we'll just be going, then," Remus said, grabbing Regulus arm. "Good luck, James. C'mon, Reg."

"But I want to stay with my brother!" Regulus protested feebly, but Remus dragged him out. Sirius watched them leave, then turned to me.

"You… er… you _aren't_ from the future, right?" Sirius asked. I bit my lip. I didn't want to lie… and I really didn't want to tell the truth. "James?"

"What would you say if I said I was?"

Sirius stared. "Well, I think I'd say you were pulling my leg."

"And if I was being serious?"

"No, you can't be serious, I'm Sirius," Sirius replied, cracking a smile. "Nah, I'd ask you what it's like and why the heck you're back here."

"Ah," I said, shifting awkwardly.

"So…" Sirius looked at me curiously. "Are you?"

I took a deep breath. "Yeah. I am."

"Well," Sirius blinked. "That actually explains some stuff… not much, but some," he paused. "You aren't going to tell me what happened to send you back here, are you?"

"Nope," I replied.

Sirius frowned thoughtfully. "I'm dead, aren't I?"

"What makes you say that?" I asked in a strangled voice.

"Remember?" Sirius asked. "Christmas. I was the one you saw die."

"Sirius, I… yes, you were," I admitted. "But don't ask me how you died! I won't tell you."

"Why not?"

"It isn't… it's not pretty," I flinched. "But don't worry! I'll prevent it, I will fix it. I won't let you die... not this time…"

"James… I told you… it might not be preventable," Sirius said softly. "I'm not afraid of dying."

"We shouldn't be talking about this," I mumbled. "You should be afraid of death, Sirius, you're thirteen, you have your whole life ahead of you."

"How old was I when I died?" Sirius asked. It shook me that he didn't seem scared, or even worried, just childishly curious. "Fifteen, by the looks of Remus's age?"

"Please, can we not talk about it?" I asked. "You shouldn't even know. Why aren't you even worried?"

"I'm not worried," Sirius mused. "Because I know I will live my life to the fullest each and every day. I'm more worried about you. It looks like my death really shook you up, Prongs."

"Of course it did," I snapped, before softening. "You're my brother, Sirius."

"Glad to know you care so much, James," Sirius smiled warmly. "How'd Reggie take it?"

"Not any better than me," I answered. "Sirius! Can we just get off this subject?"

"Sorry," Sirius said. He was silent for a few moments. "Did I really look like that when I died? You're boggart?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sirius- drop it."

"Sorry."

* * *

"Jamie! Siri!" I smiled as Mum pushed past the curtains, closely followed by Dad, and proceeded to grab me, then Sirius, in bone-crushing hugs. "Oh, I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Mum, relax!" I laughed. "We're both fine. No one's dead."

"Yet," Sirius added cheekily. I sent him a glare. "Right… note to self, don't bring that up."

Dad raised an eyebrow at the exchange.

"Oh," I said. "He know. Found out earlier."

"Ah," Dad said in understanding. "Yes, best not mention that to James, Sirius. Er… how much do you know?"

"Let's see…" Sirius mused. "James is from the future, I'm dead, I was fifteen when I died, it wasn't pretty, and James was there. Yep. That's about it."

"I'm still not giving details," I declared. "Honestly, why would someone want details about their death?"

"Do you know, Mr. Potter?" Sirius asked eagerly, and I groaned and rolled my eyes as Dad chuckled.

"I know some," Dad admitted. "But I'm going to agree with James; there really is no need for you to know."

"Exactly!" Mum said, giving Sirius a disapproving look. "There's absolutely no need. James, why did you tell him? Now he'll be scared."

"I'm not scared, honestly, Mrs. Potter," Sirius assured her. She eyed him suspiciously. "Really, I'm not. Death… it isn't all that scary. Before I came to Hogwarts, I would sometimes wish that Death would come and take me away. But I told myself that was stupid, that Regulus needed me. Then I went to Hogwarts, and met James, and Remus, and Peter… they and Regulus were all that kept me going at Grimmauld Place. They kept me fighting."

"I never knew," I whispered, as Mum and Dad looked at Sirius sympathetically. "It was that bad? So bad you wanted… you wanted to die?"

"Sometimes," Sirius admitted. "But every time I thought that, I'd automatically think about you and Regulus and Remus and Peter."

"You never…" I bit my lip. "You never thought about… killing yourself?"

"Nah," Sirius said. "Well… I don't think so."

"That's good," I said in relief. "But you're out of there. Can't you be scared of dying now?"

"Why?" Sirius asked. "If I die, I die. It's not like I'm going to try to get myself killed, but if it happens, oh well," he paused, then donned a devious grin. "I just hope I go out dramatically. Something really cool."

"Knowing you, you'll get yourself killed by a curtain," I teased. "Nah, you're gonna die when you're old and grey and have tons of great-grandchildren."

"Grandkids? Me?" Sirius laughed. "Yeah, right, you'll be the one with grandkids, Prongs."

"Ooh, grandchildren!" Mum swooned. "Oh, Jamie, that's a wonderful idea- not yet, of course, but when you're older. Just think! Little boys that look like you with Lily's eyes and little girls that look like Lily with your eyes!"

"Woah, woah, woah!" I said. "Slow down! I think one kid will be _plenty_."

"You're just scared of diaper duty," Sirius grinned cheekily. I paled. "Yep, knowing Lily she'll stick you with that!"

I shuddered.

"Don't laugh," I exclaimed, as Mum, Dad, and Sirius burst out laughing. "That's scary! The smell! Why can't babies clean up their own mess?"

"Because, James, they're babies," Mum said slowly, as if that explained everything. I stuck my tongue out at her. "James! Be respectful."

"Yes Mum," I replied, winking at Sirius. "Hey! Can we play Quidditch?"

"Absolutely not, young man!" Mum cried. "You're hurt! And if I hear about another escape attempt…"

"That was all Sirius!" I declared.

"Yes, thanks for ratting me out, Prongs," Sirius scowled jokingly. "I'd like to get out of here. Can't we stay in our dorms?"

"You two are so immature," Dad chuckled. "Although, I must agree. If you're anything like me, you've been here so many times that you'd rather never come again."

"Exactly!" I said. "And, believe it or not, I miss class!"

Sirius gawked at me. "Who are you and what have you done with James Potter?"

"Shut it, Padfoot," I retorted. "For all you know, by the time I was fifteen, I love school."

"You?" Sirius gasped dramatically. "Love school? I don't believe it."

"Well, believe it," I replied. "At least I've had visitors."

"I've been unconscious!"

"Yeah, but they came to see me."

"They did not!"

"Did too."

"No! They didn't! They wanted to see me."

"Boys," Mum said. "Stop arguing!"

"Sorry, Mum," I declared, at the same time Sirius replied, "Sorry, Mrs. Potter."

"Hmm, that's better," Mum smiled. "Now, you two, I did bring homework."

Sirius and I exchanged glances and groaned. It seemed that we couldn't escape homework even when injured. Maybe Moony would let us copy…

"That's great," I sighed. "Just great."

**A/N: Okay, so this chapter might be kinda confusing. So… Dumbledore invented something that would send them back in time briefly, but they aren't actually there… kinda like a hologram, except they can touch things. And Sirius knows! Poor Siri… and poor Jamie, Sirius will never stop bugging him. XD Big thanks to N.E. Person, Lovewriting12, potterhead934, and jeremiah123 for your reviews! Free virtual cookie dough! Hope you all liked. Over 75 reviews! :D **

**I still don't own Harry Potter.**


	16. Chapter 16

"James. Psst, James!" I sat up and pulled the curtain open irritably. It'd been a few days since Sirius found out. And he _hadn't stopped bugging me _since.

"What now, Padfoot?" I asked. "I swear, if you ask me one more time about your death, I will hex you."

"No, it isn't that! I have an idea!"

I groaned.

"No, no, it's a good idea!" Sirius insisted. "We should pretend to try and escape again," I slumped against my pillow in exasperation. "No, wait! And then, we come back and play it up, pretending to be really hurt."

I rolled my eyes. "And this helps us how?"

"Because your parents will bring us food! Really good food!" Sirius replied giddily. I raised an eyebrow. "No, really! They'll feel _bad_ for us."

"Hate to burst your bubble Pads, but if we do that, Mum'll be mad at us for trying to sneak out again," I pointed out. Sirius ignored me.

"But it'll be fun, too," he continued. "And if it doesn't fool you're folks, it ought to at least fool Reg and Pete. Then they can get us candy at Honeyduke's!"

"True," I conceded. "Alright. But if you actually hurt yourself, don't come crying to me."

"Nah, I won't hurt myself," Sirius grinned, sitting up straight and sliding out of bed. "Coming, Jamie?"

"If I must," I said, climbing out of bed as well, making my head spin. "I still think this is a bad idea."

"That's the fun in it!" Sirius proclaimed happily, pushing past the curtains. I followed him, glad the both of us could actually walk this time. "Okay, now fall!"

"Sirius!" I hissed. "That'll bloody hurt!"

"So? It'll help you play it up. Push me, I can't fall on my own," Sirius ordered. I gave him a dry look, and he grinned expectantly. I sighed heavily, and lightly shoved him. "Oi! That was hardly a push."

"Well, excuse me for worrying about your wellbeing," I replied sarcastically. Sirius frowned, figuring I wasn't going to push him down. "You're plan has failed. So, if you'll stop looking for dumb ideas to get yourself killed, I'd like to lie down."

Sirius didn't listen; instead, he ran face first into the door, which flew open, and he fell out. I groaned, rolling my eyes and going to check on him. He rolled over to smile at me sheepishly.

"Er... oops?" he said. I held out a hand. "Nah, call Madam Pomfrey. Time to play it up."

I smiled bemusedly. "Hey, Madam Pomfrey! Sirius did something stupid!"

Madam Pomfrey came walking towards us, a light scowl on her face. Sirius winked at me, then grabbed his chest dramatically. "My chest... it hurts!"

Madam Pomfrey watched him carefully, obviously not buying it.

"What are you two up too," Sirius glanced up slightly, scowling almost imperceptibly, before letting out a fake cry of agony. I had to stifle a laugh.

"Can't breathe!" He choked. "Help me- I'm dying!"

I rolled my eyes. He was playing it up a little too much.

Just then, Regulus walked up. He caught sight of Sirius on the ground, and paled.

"What's wrong with him!?" he cried. I rolled my eyes as Regulus knelt by his brother. "Siri?"

"Reggie," Sirius said, and I had to stifle another laugh at his acting. "When I die- you can have my broom."

"Oi! I want that broom," I declared. Sirius glared at me slightly, before gasping and going limp. I smirked slightly as his foot twitched, and I could tell he was trying not to grin.

"Siri!" Regulus exclaimed, grabbing Sirius and shaking him. "Wake up, wake up!"

"Mr. Black," Madam Pomfrey said sharply. When Sirius didn't appear to respond, her expression softened a bit. "Mr. Black?"

"He's dead!" Regulus wailed. "Now he's really dead!"

"Mr. Black," Madam Pomfrey frowned, kneeling beside Sirius, checking him over. "I think he's playing it up."

Sirius grimaced while neither Madam Pomfrey nor Regulus was looking. I snickered quietly at his misfortune.

"Hmm, well, if he really is hurt," Madam Pomfrey said, smiling smugly. "Then I suppose he'll be stuck here for even longer. I think I have a few more potions for him too... and I guess then he can't go to the Quidditch game..."

"No!" Sirius exclaimed, shooting straight up. He winced, and grabbed his chest for real. "Wasn't too smart of me to run into the door, was it? Er... please don't make me miss Quidditch."

"We'll see," Madam Pomfrey said. "Mr. Black, help your brother to the bed. Mr. Potter, I trust this was Mr. Black's idea?"

"Completely, all Sirius," I confirmed. Sirius sent me a fake glare as Regulus helped him back to his bed. "If he keeps hurting himself, he might as well move in here."

"I'm tempted to ship him off to St. Mungo's and let them deal with him," Madam Pomfrey replied dryly. "And how are you feeling, Mr. Potter?"

"Better," I said. "But I think I'm gonna go lie down. My headache is coming back on."

Madam Pomfrey gave me an approving nod, and I walked back to my bed, and climbed back in. Regulus was evidently scolding his brother for being an idiot.

"I just wanted food," Sirius lamented. "What's a little pain and acting for food?"

"But you could have seriously hurt yourself," Regulus exclaimed. Sirius opened his mouth. "And do _not_ make that pun right now!"

"Aw, Reggie, you and Moony and James ruin all my fun." Sirius pouted. "And, Regulus, my middle name isn't Lee."

Regulus and I both groaned, and Regulus face-palmed.

"You just had to add that, didn't you?" I asked. Sirius beamed at me. "You aren't too hurt, right?"

"Prongs, are you kidding?" Sirius let out a barking laugh. "Running into a door is hardly going to kill me, relax. Nah, I'd like to know what on this earth could off me, the great Sirius Black!"

I stiffened, and glared at him. "Would you quit mentioning that?"

"What, me dying?" Sirius replied cheekily. I rolled over in my bed.

"That's it, I'm just going to ignore you," I said. "Regulus, slap your brother for me."

There was a crack and a yelp.

"Not the face!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Sorry," Regulus replied. I rolled back over. Sure enough, there was a red hand mark on Sirius cheek, and he was scowling at Regulus.

"You must slap hard," I observed. "You left a handprint. A big, red one."

"It's animal abuse!" Sirius declared. I gave him a bemused look. "What? It's true! Animal abuse!"

"Sirius," Regulus said slowly. "You're human."

"That's what you think," Sirius grinned. "How do you know I'm not- what is it Muggles call it- oh, yes, an alien?"

"Because you didn't know what they were called?" I suggested. "Plus, then you still wouldn't be an animal. You'd be an alien."

"Yeah, go and ruin all my fun," Sirius frowned, before cracking another grin. "How else can we trick Madam Pomfrey into getting us delicious deserts?"

"You can't," I said dryly. "And, for the record, don't even bother coming up with another _brilliant_ plan. They always backfire."

"They do not!"

"Hmm, I've known you longer than you have," I replied smugly. "Your plans _always backfire_."

"They do," Regulus agreed. "Or was I hearing things when you claimed you 'would _not_ get in trouble' this Christmas break?"

"That's different, dear Mother and Father don't need a reason to punish me," Sirius scowled. "I just want good food! Reggie, can you sneak to Hogsmeade for us?"

"I could," Regulus said. "But you have to say the magic word."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "_Please_?"

"I don't believe it!" I gasped dramatically. "Sirius Black said please!"

"Shut it, you," Sirius said. "I've said please before. I have manners, I'm not uncivilized."

"Really?" I asked. "Could have fooled me."

"What is it, Pick on Sirius Day?" Sirius groaned. I just grinned cheekily at him while Regulus snickered. "Regulus, you sure you're my brother and not this git's? Because you seem to share a favourite hobby."

"I dunno," Regulus shrugged, laughing. "Is there something Mum's not telling me?"

"Mr. Black, I have a few potions for your ribs," I glanced up. Madam Pomfrey had entered, carrying more potions. Sirius sighed. "Again. Honestly, if you don't like the potions, do keep out of trouble."

"I'll try harder next time," Sirius said, before downing a potion and grimacing. "Blech. Must I?"

"Yes, you must," Madam Pomfrey agreed. "Mr. Potter, I brought you a headache potion if you want it."

"Thanks," I replied, taking the offered vial and downing it in one gulp. "Sirius needs to quit being an idiot."

"Oi!"

* * *

"Hey, Lils."

"James!" Lily jumped about a foot into the air, spinning around and hugging me. "You're out of the Hospital Wing!"

"Madam Pomfrey said I could go to the game," I beamed. "Can't play, but I can watch."

"That's great," Lily smiled. "So... where's Sirius?"

"Madam Pomfrey made him stay," I chuckled. "I think she's afraid he'll get on a broom and jump off or something. Considering his crazy plans lately, I wouldn't put that past him."

"Another escape attempt?" Lily shook her head. "You'd think he was in Azkaban, not the Hospital Wing, with how desperate he is to get out."

"Wonder when he'll think of sneaking out as Padfoot?" I mused. "Let's hope he doesn't. Nah, knowing my luck he probably will."

"Can he transform?"

"Er... not... completely," I said, snickering slightly. "It's a sight, actually- speak of the devil."

Running- or maybe limping- towards us was Sirius. Sort of. He looked sort of like a dog. And kind of like a boy. But more like some sort of big, black mutant with dog ears and a tail.

"Hullo, James!" he exclaimed when he reached us, except I could barely understand him. "And Lily!"

"Sirius, you're barking," Lily pointed out. "Literally."

"I am?" Sirius asked. He morphed back to normal. "Ow, that hurts when you're injured."

"No duh," I deadpanned. "Why do you think I didn't turn into Prongs?"

"Does, er, does she know?"

"I do," Lily smiled. "And I think it's brilliant."

"Great!" Sirius grinned. "James, where's my broom. I'm playing."

"You're not," I replied. "If you're gonna watch, watch. But you aren't playing. That's just what you bloody need, to fall off your broom in your condition."

"I'm better, though!" Sirius protested.

"You just said you were injured," Lily pointed out. Sirius shrugged. "That's a contradictory statement."

"Actually, I'm fine, even if I'm injured," Sirius declared. "C'mon, James, let me play!"

"No," I chided. "If you go and get yourself killed-"

"Quidditch won't kill me," Sirius retorted. "But- if I knew what would...?"

"Would you quit asking me that?" I snapped. Sirius flinched back, looking like a hurt puppy, and I immediately felt bad. "Sorry, Pads."

"It's okay," Sirius replied, looking embarrassed that he'd reacted like that. "I just want to know..."

"I'm still not telling you," I declared. "You don't need to know about that."

"Wait a minute," Lily frowned. "When did he find out?"

"When Remus and Regulus visited from the future," I answered.

"Remus and Regulus visited from the future?"

"A couple of days ago," Sirius added. "I saw them. James had to tell me. I figured it out. But he won't tell me how I died."

"Good on him," Lily smiled at me, before her expression darkened. "Really, Sirius, you ought to be happier not knowing. And James hates talking about it."

"I want to know, though!" Sirius whined. "Did I really look like your boggart? Did I go out fighting? Did you get to say goodbye and everything?"

"Really, Sirius, please, I don't want to talk about it," I said, rubbing my forehead. "If you really must know," I added sarcastically. "Go look in my Pensieve."

Sirius's eyes lit up, and he grinned deviously, before rushing off in the opposite direction I stared after him, cursing under my breath.

"He just went to look in my Pensieve, didn't he?" I asked. Lily nodded.

"Yep," she said. "He did."

**A/N: Dun dun dun! Sirius is going to look at James's Penseive! Not good, right? And he still doesn't have his Honeyduke's. Poor Sirius. **** Big thanks to Theta-McBride, jeremiah123, Lovewriting12, potterhead924, peevesisawesome, and N.E. Person for reviewing! You guys get a huge package of Honeyduke's chocolate (that Sirius would like you to share, but, really, it's chocolate, you should probably ignore him)! Hope you all enjoyed my feeble attempt at a good chapter. XD**

**I will never own Harry Potter.**


	17. Chapter 17

"Crud," I muttered. "C'mon, let's go after him. Me and my bloody big mouth…"

"Yes, you and you big mouth," Lily repeated dryly. "Yes, we'd better. No need to scar the poor boy for life."

Lily and I turned away from the Quidditch field, and towards the castle. It was a rather long walk there, but if we wanted to catch Sirius in time, we'd have to run. Luck was not on our side, however, as we ran into Regulus, Remus, and Peter, all heading to the game.

"Where're you off to?" Remus asked suspiciously. "It's not like you, James, to miss a game of Quidditch."

"This is more important," I replied. "Can we go, now? It's kind of urgent."

Remus let us pass, watching us warily. "Be careful."

I sent him back a quick smile, before we started sprinting towards the Common Room. The Fat Lady saw us and smiled. "Password?"

"Lion's Pride," I said quickly, and she opened up. We rushed up to the dorm room. Sirius was in there, pale as a sheet, standing over my Pensieve. "Sirius!"

He spun around quickly, staring at me for a second, before rushing towards me and engulfing me in a hug. "I'm sorry, I still let you get hurt, I'm so sorry."

"What?" I spluttered. "Sirius, what are you talking about?"

"They used the Cruciatus on you," he murmured. "I let you get hurt."

"Sirius, you saved my life," I exclaimed. "You didn't let me get hurt! Are you not at all fazed by what happened to _you_ that night?"

"No," Sirius said, pulling away. "No, I'm not. I went out trying to protect you. If that's what I need to do to protect you, get tortured? Well, I'd do it ten times over if it meant you were safe."

"Sirius," I whispered, raising a hand to wipe at my moist eyes. "I don't ever want that to happen."

"I would die for you, Prongs," Sirius declared. "A thousand times over. I told you, I'm not afraid of death."

"Oh, Sirius," Lily sighed. "Look at you, both of you… Sirius, do you realize how much your death affected James? He rarely, if ever, smiled. He didn't laugh. The only ones who ever saw him without his mask were me, Remus, Peter, and Regulus. He used to cry himself to sleep at night, too, you know."

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows, and looked at me for confirmation. I nodded. "It's true, Pads… I get so confused sometimes… when I first got here- to the past- was so happy. And yet, at the same time, so upset. It was hard to see you again…"

"I'm sorry," Sirius said again. "This is my fault, that you feel this way."

"No!" I exclaimed. "No, Sirius, it isn't your fault. It's mine… if I had… I dunno, fought back… ducked that Body-Bind, not been so scared…"

"I see no way that it could be your fault, either," Sirius pointed out. "You had every right to be scared; you couldn't have seen that hex coming, either. I don't blame you now, and I wouldn't in the future."

"Told you so," Lily said.

Sirius and I looked at her weirdly.

"Right," she muttered awkwardly. "Not the time."

"You think?" I asked sarcastically. "Sirius, I promise, that won't happen this time."

Sirius gave me a small smile, and put a hand on my shoulder. "I told you, might not be able to prevent it. If I'm going to die that day, I'm going to die. But, promise me something, James."

"Anything."

"Don't try to save me," he said. I opened my mouth immediately to protest. "Wait, I'm not done. Don't try to save me if you have to risk your life in the process. I'd rather die knowing you're safe, than live knowing you died to protect me. Or worse, die anyway, and know you also don't get to live your life all because you were trying to save me."

"Sirius, I…" I bit my lip. "I can't… not if there's a chance you might live."

"James, please," Sirius begged. "Don't do this. You have so much more to live for... More people care for you..."

"Please," I scoffed half-heartedly. "Even the Slytherins were sobbing at your funeral."

"Good to know so many people care," Sirius laughed. "You sure the Slytherins weren't crying in relief, Prongs?"

"Not funny," I said. "Sirius, mate, I don't think you get it. You were _dead_. Dead as in _never coming back_. I'd never get to see you again, not until I died! Padfoot, you'd be gone. And you can't honestly say you aren't scared of being tortured like that, can you?"

"I can," Sirius replied. "Pain is… I mean, pain has been a big part of my life since I was little, James," I grimaced. "Oh, don't give me that look, you know it's true."

"Urgh, you parents are _awful_!" Lily cried. "Why couldn't of you been born into my family?"

"Why your family? Why not mine?" I suggested. "Or Moony's. Or Wormtail's."

"Hmm, well, fate seems to hate me," Sirius said dryly. "At least I know I won't be killed by a curtain."

"Shut up, I was teasing you," I said, face reddening as Sirius poked me in the shoulder. "It was a joke, suggesting how clumsy you are."

"I'm not that clumsy!" Sirius protested. "I'm… unbalanced sometimes, but not clumsy!"

"Same thing, Pads," I teased. "You're also a-"

"Bloody noble git," Sirius and Lily chorused. "We know."

"Oh, shush," I retorted, blushing. "So maybe I say it a lot. It's true."

"Obviously," Sirius chuckled. "Since that is what got me almost killed about a week ago, and gets me killed in two years."

"You won't die in two years," I said defiantly. "Merlin, can't you just be the least bit worried?"

"Nah," Sirius grinned. "Take all the fun out of life. Did you think I was worried I'd get hurt when I ran into the Hospital Wing doors?"

"And you were yelling at Regulus for animal abuse."

"Animal abuse?" Lily repeated bemusedly. "Oh, dear, Sirius, you really are turning into your Animagus form- oh! That reminds me, I got you dog treats for when you got out."

Lily handed Sirius a box of dog treats, and Sirius's eyes lit up as he opened the box and began shoving treats into his mouth. "Thanks, Lily!"

"At least some things never change," I chuckled. "Padfoot, promise me one thing, though."

"Mmkay," Sirius said through a mouthful of dog treats.

"Don't go needlessly putting yourself in danger just because you think you can help," Sirius swallowed his treats and shook his head madly. I sighed, and sat down heavily on the bed. "Pads..."

"It isn't in my nature not to help, Prongs," Sirius declared. "If there's something I can do, I'm going to do it."

"How am I supposed to protect you though?" I asked, rubbing my head, feeling another headache coming along. "If you keep putting yourself in danger."

"I don't need you to protect me!" Sirius exclaimed crossly. "I can protect myself perfectly fine-"

"Yeah, right, I saw how well you could protect yourself!" I retorted. "If I wasn't there a while ago, you'd've been _killed_!"

"You don't know that!" Sirius frowned. "I could have been just fine! I don't need anyone to protect me, I can handle myself! I've _had_ to be able to fend for myself for the past nearly seven _years_!"

"That doesn't mean you don't need someone to help you!"

"I never have before!"

"Oh yeah?" I hadn't noticed that we were yelling. "Then explain to me how you got yourself _killed_!?"

"I was protecting you!"

"I don't need protecting either!"

"Well, it sure as heck looked like you did!"

"I was caught off guard!"

"So was I!"

"Maybe if you'd just come back to Hogwarts last week when Moony suggested it, none of this would have happened!"

"And leave those people to fend for themselves?"

"No! Tell Dumbledore, let the adults handle it!"

"Well, maybe I'm used to the adults in my life not caring!"

"You should know better by now!"

"Not everyone had a perfect life, James!"

"You think _I_ had a perfect life!? I watched my house burn to the ground! I watched _you_ get murdered! I held you in my arms as you died because I couldn't protect you!"

"I don't need protecting!"

"Yes, you do! Would you stop being so bloody stubborn!?"

"Fine!" Sirius yelled, stomping towards the door, eyes stormy. "I'm leaving! I don't need _anyone_ to protect me! Not you, or anyone else!"

With that, he stormed out of the room. I stared after him, regret taking over, before burying my face in my hands. "What have I done?"

Lily put a soothing hand on my back, sitting beside me. "Oh, Jamie... friends fight. You know how independent and stubborn Sirius is..."

"I shouldn't have said that," I muttered. "About protecting him. I should have known he'd take it that way. Where'd he get off to? Lily, pass me that piece of parchment."

"Okay..." Lily said unsurely, handing it to me. I pulled out my wand.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," I murmured. The Map sprang to life, and Lily gawked. I started searching the school for any sign of Sirius, finally finding him headed towards the Astronomy Tower. I sighed in relief; that was his favourite place to think. "Alright. I'm going to go find him. Apologise. Lily, you go ahead to the game, okay?"

"Okay," Lily gave me a reassuring smile and a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck."

"Thanks," I replied, standing up and rushing out of the common room. I was glad that most everybody was at the game. I didn't have to worry about running into anyone. Soon, after much stair-climbing, I reached Sirius. He was sitting with his head in his hands, and he looked up when I walked in. I quickly noticed tear-tracks on his face, and the guilt welled up inside me. I'd made him cry.

"James," he greeted. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things."

"What things?" I asked, walking over and sitting next to him. "I think I upset you more."

"About you having a perfect life," he sniffled. "And I kept on reminding you of that day... and- and- and you're just trying to help me, but... why? Why do you want to help me?"

"Why wouldn't I?" I retorted. "You're my best friend, Padfoot."

"I'm just so used to- to being ignored, or hurt, that I just can't remember what it feels like to be loved. I mean, Reggie cares for me, I know, but he has to follow the rules at home so he doesn't get hurt, so I never see him... and Andy was disowned... I feel like an outsider... everyone else has a loving family, parents who care for them, not hurt them."

"Oh, Padfoot," I murmured, wrapping my arms around him. "I care for you. My parents love you like their own son- or maybe even more, considering I'm the 'bad one'. Regulus really does love you, you know."

"I know," Sirius sighed. "I'm sorry... look, I've gone and ruined your shirt again."

"Nah, it isn't ruined," I told him. "Tear-stains come out," I paused. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. That was uncalled for."

"I started it," Sirius muttered. "It's my fault, of course. You have nothing to be sorry for."

I cuffed him over the head. "Hey, let me take some of the blame for once. Bloody noble git."

"Overprotective prat," Sirius retorted, smiling slightly. "Do you think we've missed much of the game?"

"It depends on if the Seeker's got the Snitch," I said, pulling out the map. "Let's see... still going on, everyone's still at the pitch. What do you say we go try and catch the rest of the game before we catch a cold up here?"

"We'll catch a cold out there too," Sirius pointed out cheekily. I laughed, and pulled myself up, offering him a hand, which he took gratefully. "Do you think we'll win?"

"Definitely," I said.

**A/N: Hullo! Bit of an emotional chapter, don't know what I was thinking. :P So, Siri and Jamie have a little fight that probably isn't the best since I'm no good at that kind of stuff... and poor Lily is just stuck in the middle. Special thanks to my reviewers, Lovewriting12, jeremiah123, N. E. Person, Lady Loophole (oh, hi!), Theta-McBride, and potterhead934! You guys get another Zonko's prank kit! Oh- and I forgot, a shout-out to my friend who gave me the idea for the prank last chapter. XD Hope you all enjoyed!**


	18. Chapter 18

"We're out, we're out!" Sirius cheered as we rushed into the Gryffindor common room. "She finally released us!"

"That's great!" Lily said, as the common room erupted into excited chatter. Remus beamed at us and Peter was bouncing on his heels. "So, you're good?"

"Good as new," I confirmed happily. "Even with all of Pads's escape attempts- I thought for sure Pomfrey'd keep him longer, just to spite him."

"So did I," Sirius chuckled. "But I'm perfectly fine! And, more importantly, so is Prongs!"

"Bloody noble git."

"Overprotective prat."

"I sense an inside joke," mused Remus, his mouth twitching in amusement. "Care to share?"

Sirius and I exchanged looks. "Nah."

"Ooh, I know!" Lily volunteered. "So, you know about how Sirius d-"

"Lily!" I hissed. "Not in front of the entire common room!"

"Oh, right," Lily flushed. "Sorry, I'll tell you later, Remus."

"And me?" Peter asked hopefully.

"And you," I declared. Lily sent me a look. "Yes, Lily, he deserves to know. It'd be unfair."

"It would," Sirius put in. "Cause I know, and you know, and Moony knows. Pete's gotta know too! C'mon, let's tell him now! Up to the dorms!"

With that, Sirius grabbed my arm and Lily's arm, and dragged us up to the dormitories. We were closely followed by Remus and Peter. Sirius sat down on my bed, and reached for my Pensieve.

"Oh, no, no, no," I said. "We are not using the Pensieve. I'm not watching that. Peter would have nightmares."

"What are you telling me?" Peter asked anxiously. "What's the matter?"

"Pete, me and Lils, we're actually fifteen," I declared. Peter's eyes widened. "We travelled back in time to save the future-"

"And me," Sirius added cheerfully. "Cause I die. Brutally. It's pretty wicked."

"It's _not_ wicked," I scowled. "It was the worst day in my life."

"Sirius is dead?" Peter squeaked. "Oh no! How'd he die?"

"I was protecting James," Sirius said proudly. "They tortured me to death. I saved James's life, though."

"Tortured!?" Peter turned white. "W-who? Why aren't you _scared_ Padfoot?"

"Why should I be?" Sirius asked. "I can handle a bit of pain. The main point is, I saved James."

"Bloody. Noble. Git," I said, hitting Sirius on the shoulder. "What am I going to do with you if you can't even worry about yourself?"

"I just like making your life harder," he replied cheekily. "You know, going and putting myself in dangerous situations, not caring, etcetera."

"Shut it, you," I retorted. "I'm starting to wonder whether I was wrong. Maybe you're not brave, just stupid."

"Oi!"

"Hmm, that's probably right," Lily mused. "Considering he ran purposefully into the doors when he knew he was injured enough as is."

"No fair, you're teaming up against me," Sirius pouted.

"You can be pretty reckless, Padfoot," Peter agreed.

"And you tend to drag James along," Remus added. "Like that brilliant idea you had to follow me to the Shack on the _night of the full moon_."

"Or your brilliant escape plans," I put in.

"Or your insane idea that you could have actually done something at Diagon Alley," Peter said.

"Or-"

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Sirius exclaimed, laughing slightly. "So I can be pretty dumb sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Lily asked. Sirius stuck his tongue out at her. "More like most times."

"Thanks for telling me," Peter said. "I'm glad I know; now I can help prevent it."

"I'm going to tell you what I told James," Sirius declared. "It might not be preventable. I'm not afraid of dying. Don't do something stupid like giving your life to save me."

He sent me a sharp look as I opened my mouth to protest. "No matter what."

"You're one to talk," I replied. "Since _you_ died to save _me_."

"That's different," Sirius argued. "For all we know, I'd die anyway, and then we'd both be dead. Then what? I told you, I'd rather you live- I _know_ you originally lived through that day. If you don't do something dumb, you will again."

"Hopefully," Lily cut in, obviously hoping to prevent another shouting match. "Hopefully, the Attack on Hogsmeade won't even happen."

"The Attack in Diagon Alley still happened," I said softly. "Just on a later day. And, thanks to our rotten lock, we were there."

"Well, it's unlikely you'd be there even if it ended up still happening," Lily declared primly. "Unless you sneak out, seeing as it happened on the last Hogsmeade weekend of the year."

"It could happen on the next year," I retorted pessimistically. "Or the next. Or it could happen early."

"Prongsie, you're being pessimistic," Sirius said in a sing-song voice, a stupid grin on his face. I scowled at him. "Ooh, he's angry, I'm scared."

"Don't provoke him," Lily warned. "You don't want to see him when he's really mad. You should have seen him take on Bellatrix. He was scary. Brilliant, but scary."

"I wouldn't hurt Padfoot," I said. "Not in a million years."

"Good to know, ickle Jamesykins!" Sirius beamed.

"On second thought," I mused, watching Sirius's grin fade. "I might reconsider."

"Right. Gotcha," Sirius declared. "Moony, will you be my human shield?"

"No," Remus replied dryly.

"Peter?"

"No way!" Peter shook his head madly. "I'm not risking it!"

"I thought you didn't need protecting, Padfoot?" I asked cheekily. "Or was that all talk?"

"You trickster!" Sirius exclaimed indignantly. "You wanted me to say that, didn't you!?"

"Yep," I replied happily. "Hey, Lils, when are we gonna tell Reggie?"

"Tell Regulus?" Sirius asked in surprise. "No, no, no, Reggie doesn't need to know!"

"Why not?" Peter asked.

"Think of how he'll react!" Sirius exclaimed. "He doesn't need to know, he'll freak! I wouldn't have told James either, but since he was there, there's no point."

"Why wouldn't you have told me!?"

"Because," Sirius cried. "I know how badly you'd take it!"

"I'd want to know," I retorted. "Are you keeping secrets from me?"

"No!" Sirius exclaimed. "I'm not! But I know how much this affected you- and you were _fifteen_! Regulus is _twelve_! Think of how he'd react!"

"He deserves to know!" I argued. "Regulus wouldn't want us keeping him in the dark!"

"Keeping me in the dark about what?" I spun on my heel, and Sirius paled. Regulus was standing in the doorway, looking innocently confused. "Sirius, are you hiding something?"

"No!" Sirius exclaimed at the same time as I said, "Yes."

"What's he hiding?" Regulus asked, giving Sirius a cross look.

"He doesn't want me to tell you," I declared. "But it's not up to him."

"I'd like to know," Regulus said.

Sirius scowled. "Actually, I don't think you do."

"Actually, I think I do," Regulus retorted crossly. "Tell me James?"

"I think I will," I declared. Sirius glared at me, before sitting down on his bed and crossing his arms. "We- me and Lils, that is- are from the future."

"Wicked," Regulus grinned. "Sirius, why didn't you want me to know?"

"Because," Sirius muttered. "Whatever."

"Is there something else?" Regulus asked intuitively. "Cause I'm sure Siri wouldn't try and keep something from me for no reason."

"Yeah," I sighed. "But... well... I really hate talking about it, and Padfoot won't tell you."

"Something bad happened," Regulus said, going white. His eyes darted to the Pensieve, and, before I could react, he was diving in. I groaned, and went in after him, quickly.

"Hogsmeade," Regulus noted, looking around. I walked up to him. "Hi, James. Hogsmeade- it looks- weird..."

"Yeah," I whispered. We were standing right outside the alley, and suddenly, several Death Eaters and Bellatrix fled past us. I blanched, realizing exactly when this was. Regulus ventured into the Alley, and I rushed after him, hoping to stop him before he saw.

Regulus halted in his steps, going white. I ran up beside him, and immediately saw what he saw. I swayed on my feet, choking back a sob.

"Sirius, hold on, Padfoot," I- the me in the memory- was saying desperately, cradling a bleeding Sirius in his arms. "Why'd you do it, Padfoot?"

"I had to- had to protect you," Sirius said, coughing slightly. "I couldn't- I left Regulus... I couldn't- couldn't protect him. I couldn't fail you too..."

"Oh, Sirius," Regulus whispered, kneeling beside memory-me and Sirius. "Look at you..."

"Shh, Pads, it'll be okay," memory-me said soothingly, his voice shaking. I fell to my knees, desperately wanting to grab Sirius and never let go. Instead, I settled for grabbing Regulus's hand, squeezing it as reassuringly as I could.

"I'm sorry, Jamie," Sirius rasped, blood trickling from his mouth. Beside me, Regulus let out a choked sob. "I tried..."

"You saved me," memory-me assured him. "You saved my life, Padfoot."

"G-good," Sirius smiled weakly. His eyes were slowly getting duller, and I noticed that I was shaking horribly. "I'm glad."

"James, he'll be okay, right?" Regulus asked me desperately. "He'll be okay. _Right_?"

I just pulled Regulus into a hug, feeling tears starting to stream down my face.

"Just hang on, please," memory-me pleaded. "Dumbledore- Remus is getting Dumbledore."

"Take care of Reggie for me?" Sirius asked. Regulus gave another heart-wrenching sob. Memory-me's eyes widened.

"You'll be fine," he insisted. Sirius's breathing was shallow, and it was all too obvious he was dying. "No, please, hold on! Don't let go, hold on, Sirius, hold on!"

"Siri," Regulus whimpered, and I held him tighter.

"No! No!"

"S'cold," Sirius murmured, blinking deliriously at the rain. "It hurts, Jamie…"

"I know it does, I know, but hang in there," Memory-me insisted. Sirius looked up at him. Grey eyes met brown ones, and a small smile appeared on the broken boy's face. "Please hold on."

"You'll be okay." In retrospect, I realized Sirius was trying to comfort me. I let out a dry laugh that sounded more like a sob. That was just like Sirius. My heart clenched at the steady stream of blood flowing from my friend's mouth among other places, forming a pool of it around them. Regulus was sobbing into my shirt. "I'm sorry, Jamie…"

"There's nothing to be sorry for," My heart was breaking at his pain, just like it had when I was really there. "Just hang on, help will be here soon."

"You're the best brother I could ask for," he smiled slightly, looking at memory-me blearily. "Thank you."

He let out a breath.

And didn't take another.

A heartbreaking scream filled the air, and I realized it has come from memory-me. Regulus was clutching me tightly, sobbing loudly and shamelessly. My own tears were streaming down my face. I shouldn't have gone in. Reliving this was probably the worst thing for me. But Regulus needed me, now more than ever. The memory faded; we found ourselves back in the dorm room. Regulus was still sobbing into my chest. Sirius knelt down next to us, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. Regulus turned and saw him, before launching himself onto his brother instead. Sirius just held him quietly. I tried desperately to quell my own crying, wiping at my eyes.

"We should have just told him," Lily whispered. "At least then he wouldn't have seen it... oh, James, and you had to relive that!"

"I'm fine," I said shakily. "Better than Reggie, at any rate."

"Don't put up a silencing charm tonight," Remus ordered. "I know you, you'll probably have nightmares. And Regulus should sleep in here."

"I don't think Reg'll want to leave, anyways," Sirius laughed shakily. "Right, Reg?"

"No! I'll never leave!" Regulus exclaimed, his voice shaky and tearful. "I won't, I won't! You can't make me!"

"We don't want to make you," I said soothingly. "We want you to stay here."

"Siri, can I sleep in your bed tonight?" Regulus asked, looking up at his brother. "I know it's childish, but-"

"It's perfectly fine, considering what you've just seen," Sirius assured him. He glanced up at me. "Er... how much _did_ he see?"

"Just- just your death," I replied unsteadily. "None of the actual- he didn't see- not what happened."

"Good," Sirius sighed. "Oh, Reggie... I'm so sorry..."

**A/N: Even more of an emotional chapter than the last one! What is **_**wrong**_** with me? I can't believe I made poor Regulus see that. **** I almost cried writing this... poor Reggie, poor Jamie... Well, big thanks to my reviewers, Lady Loophole, guest (although I think N.E. Person said that was her...), N.E. Person, Theta-McBride, jeremiah123, and potterhead934! You all get Regulus plushies! Poor Reggie... What was I _thinking_!? **** Hope you enjoyed!**

**I will never own Harry Potter.**


	19. Chapter 19

"You want to what?"

It was a few days after we'd told Regulus and Peter, and Regulus had come to me with the strangest preposition I'd ever heard.

"I want to be a Gryffindor," he declared. "Like you and Siri. Mum and dad won't like it, but I can always come and live with you, right?"

Regulus looked at me hopefully.

"Yeah, of course!" I said, feeling quite bewildered. "But- uh, I don't think that's ever happened before..."

"So?" Regulus asked. "It can!"

"And why are you coming to me with this and not your brother?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Er... well... you're more... rational than Sirius is," Regulus admitted, before brightening. "Besides, if I come to live with you, I'll be your brother too!"

I started to tell him that wasn't how it worked, but his hopeful obsidian eyes stopped the words before they left my mouth. If he wanted to be my brother too, so be it.

"Alright," I said. "Welcome to the family, mate?"

Regulus beamed.

"Thanks, Jamie!" he exclaimed. "Let's go get Siri and then we can go to Dumbledore and get me resorted- d'you think Sev'll want to be resorted too!"

"I doubt it," I chuckled. "Severus is a true Slytherin."

Regulus shrugged, then raced off towards the Gryffindor common room. I smiled and shook my head. How had I never noticed how alike he and Sirius were?

"Was that Regulus running off just now?" Remus asked, walking up. "He's not going to bother Sirius, is he?"

"He is," I confirmed. "The full moon is coming up again."

"Urgh, I know," Remus groaned. "Got any chocolate for me?"

I laughed, and fished a chocolate bar out of my cloak, handing it to Remus.

"Thanks!" Remus grinned, taking a huge bite of chocolate. "Are you coming again?"

"Course I am!" I replied happily. "Sirius can half transform- do you think he can come?"

"No, let's not risk it," Remus said through a mouthful of chocolate. "How's Peter coming?"

"He can get the tail and the nose," I reported. "Maybe Reggie would want to become an Animagus? It seems like he wants to do everything me and Sirius do."

"Well, he can't do everything," Remus shrugged. "He's a Slytherin. Have I got chocolate on my face?"

"Yep," I replied. Remus scowled, and wiped his mouth with his hand. "Actually, Regulus is asking to be resorted."

"Why?" Remus asked. "Has that ever even happened before? I bet the Sorting Hat won't do it."

"We'll have to see," I shrugged. "Personally, I think he'd be a great Hufflepuff. He wants Snape to be resorted with him."

Remus let out a loud laugh. "Yeah, like that'll happen."

"Yes, Snape is Slytherin through and through," I chuckled. "That's what I told Regulus. It's like suggesting Sirius become a Slytherin."

"That'd be a sight," Remus snorted. "So... what's next on the agenda of changing the future?"

"Um..." I frowned thoughtfully. "Well... I'm not sure... probably something that changed- Merlin, I hope my parents got the wards up in case they try burning down my house early."

"They burn down your house?"

"Yeah, sometime next year," I replied. "And then, you know what happened in fifth year."

"I can't believe Regulus had to see that," Remus said sadly. "You know, I'd like to see what happened for myself."

"No you don't," I corrected him. "It gives me nightmares, and I'm two years older than you."

"I highly doubt it's worse than being attacked by Greyback," Remus pointed out. I shrugged. "It... it isn't right?"

"Well, I wouldn't know," I sighed. "But it was bad... Sirius looked... so... so broken... even worse than he had looked when he ran away from home. And there was so much blood..."

"Oh," Remus said, looking rather pale.

"I'd never seen so much pain in his eyes," I whispered. "But he smiled at me. He was dying, and he smiled at me. I was sobbing like a baby at that point, of course."

I laughed hoarsely, wiping at my eyes, which were feeling moist. "Look at me, I'm about to start crying again."

"I'm sorry for bringing it up," Remus said, eyes wide and face pale. "Maybe I don't want to see it."

"No," I smiled weakly. "You don't."

"Jamie, Jamie, where's Siri?" I glanced behind me. Regulus had run back up. "Are you crying?"

"Just got something in my eye," I lied. "Well, then. Let's go find your brother."

* * *

"You want to _what_?

"You know," I said. "I had that same reaction."

"So, let me get this straight," Sirius declared. "You want to risk the wrath of our parents by being _resorted into Gryffindor_?"

"Yep!" Regulus grinned. "I can always come live with you and Jamie."

"He can," I added.

"Well," Sirius beamed. "I'm all for it!"

"All for what?" Lily asked, sitting down next to me. "Sirius Black, James Potter, _what_ are you two up to?"

"It wasn't me!" I exclaimed, holding my hands up.

"Of course it wasn't," Lily replied, her lips twitching into a smile. "But, really, what _are_ you up to?"

"I'm going to be resorted and go and live with Jamie and Siri!" Regulus declared proudly. Lily blinked. Then blinked again. Then looked at me.

"James," she said slowly. "What did you tell him?"

"Nothing!" I answered. "He came up with this all on his own."

"Well, Regulus, good for you," Lily smiled warmly. "Welcome to the club. Are you quite sure you want to go through with this?"

"Yes!" Regulus replied eagerly. "I've been thinking it over, and I do. But, James, I was wondering... how did our parents take Sirius's death?"

"Not so loud," I hissed, before softening. "They- well, I don't know. They didn't _seem_ sad, but it could've been a mask. That's why you ran away in that timeline- you thought they didn't care. But, I mean, what parent wouldn't care when their child dies?"

Sirius snorted. "Mine."

"Sirius, I'm sure they'd care," I said, but I slightly doubted it too. "No parent wouldn't care. It isn't natural. I know my parents-"

"James, your parents aren't anything like mine," Sirius pointed out. "They wouldn't give a-" Lily gave him warning glance. "A rat's tail if I died. They'd probably _celebrate_."

"They didn't, right?" Regulus asked in alarm.

"I'm sure they didn't," Lily assured him.

"They told me Siri isn't my brother anymore," Regulus admitted. "Cause he was disowned. I don't listen to them, though. Sirius is my brother, he always will be."

"Aw, you're willing to ignore Mum and Dad's crud for me?" Sirius asked happily. "I knew you wouldn't be corrupted! That's my little brother! Maybe you can start pranking with us!"

Sirius looked especially gleeful at this last idea.

"First I have to be resorted into Gryffindor," Regulus said.

"When you get resorted, you might not necessarily be a Gryffindor," Lily pointed out. "You might not even change houses."

"Oh," Regulus looked slightly crestfallen. "But I can try?"

"Of course you can," I smiled. "And no one will hold it against you if you're still a Slytherin- or if you end up and Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff."

"That's good," said Regulus in relief. "I just want to be closer to you guys- oh, and I want to be like you and Sirius, James."

"I'd like to be more like Sirius," I admitted, and Sirius's face turned red. "Oh, don't blush. You're brave and noble- you protected me, when I couldn't do anything."

"I'm not that brave or noble," Sirius muttered. "I left Reggie with my parents," Regulus opened his mouth to protest. "And I still ended up letting you get hurt that night, Prongs. And at the attack on Diagon Alley, you were hurt because of me and my 'noble' plans."

"It was noble," I said. "Just too noble for your own good. What you need to learn is self-preservation."

"Hmm, nah, like I said, I like making your life difficult," Sirius replied cheekily. "Well, Reg, shall we be off? You've got a resorting to get to."

* * *

"I understand you wish to be sorted again, Mr. Black," said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling as we walked in.

"How did you know?" Regulus gasped.

"Magic," Sirius declared, as if this explained everything. "And I think he can read minds..."

"I encourage you to stay out of mine," I muttered.

"I do not recall a time when a student has wished to be resorted," Dumbledore mused. "But I am sure it has happened. Mr. Potter, can you reach the Sorting Hat?"

I nodded, and pulled down the raggedy old hat, handing it to Regulus, who shoved it on his head eagerly. We sat there in silence, waiting, before... "GRYFFINDOR!"

"YES!" Regulus shouted, taking off the Hat and tossing it down on Dumbledore's desk. He ran up to Sirius first, pulling him into a tight hug, before proceeding to do the same to me, then, amazingly, Dumbledore. "I'm a Gryffindor! I'm a Gryffindor!"

"Congrats, Reggie," Sirius beamed. "Welcome to the club. Hey, Professor, can he sleep in our dorm?"

"I don't see why not," Dumbledore smiled serenely, looking completely unfazed. "You will find another bed in there, I am sure. Hogwarts has ways of accommodating her students."

"I get to stay with Siri! I get to stay with Jamie!" Regulus chanted, skipping around Dumbledore's office and proudly telling every portrait about how wonderful it was. "I'm a Gryffindor! I get to stay with Siri, I get to stay with Jamie!"

Phineas Nigellus Black sniffed haughtily. "The last two Blacks, both in Gryffindor! It's a shame."

Regulus paused. "Well you can stuff it because you're a... you're a... a meanie!"

"A meanie?" Sirius repeated bemusedly. "I'm going to need to teach you some insult. Repeat after me, 'Slimy Slytherin snake'."

"Slimy Slytherin snake," Regulus said to Phineas Nigellus Black, who huffed and left his frame. "I think he'd going to tell Mum and Dad?"

"So?" Sirius asked cheerfully. "Let him. You're gonna be coming to Prong's anyway, right?"

"Right," Regulus replied, tearing his eyes away from the empty frame. "Jamie can I see more memories from the future? Funny ones, though, not of... not of... that."

"I suppose," I shrugged. "We did have some good times at Moony's."

"Can we go now?"

"No," I replied. "We should go tell Mum and Dad you're moving in. Professor, may we use your Floo?"

"Certainly," Dumbledore agreed. I stepped in first, shouted, "Potter Manor!", and was gone,. I fell face-first out of the fireplace at home, pulling myself to my feet and brushing off the ash and dust.

"Mum! Dad!" I called. Mum came rushing into the room. "Hey, Mum. Where's Dad?"

"At work," she said. "What brings you, Jamie?"

Just then, Sirius and Regulus tumbled out. Regulus looked up and grinned. "Hi."

"Hullo, Regulus, Sirius," Mum smiled warmly. "So?"

"I'm a Gryffindor!" Regulus said proudly. "Er... can I live with you? My parents are going to be angry, especially since I called Phineas a slimy Slytherin snake."

"Did Sirius teach you that?" Mum asked bemusedly. "Of course you can, dear, you're always welcome."

"Thanks!" Regulus beamed. "Now Jamie can be my brother too!"

"Why does everyone insist on calling me Jamie this chapter?" I asked. Sirius, Regulus, and Mum stared at me. "What?"

"This chapter?" Mum asked, looking quite amused.

"Er... I have no idea," I admitted, face heating up. "It seemed like the right thing to say."

"It didn't make any bloody sense," Sirius laughed. Mum gave him a warning look. "Er, sorry, Mrs. P."

"It's alright, this once," Mum said. "Welcome to the family, Regulus."

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter," Regulus smiled.

"Oh, and both of you, do call me Aunt Carol," Mum beamed. "It won't do to have you both addressing me as 'Mrs. Potter' all the time, not when you're living here."

Yep, that was Mum. Skip the formalities.

"Alright, Aunt Carol," Regulus said shyly.

"Okey-dokey, Aunt Carol!" Sirius grinned. "Say, James, let's get back to Hogwarts before Moony notices we're missing!"

**A/N: To make up for last chapter, I have written a happy chapter! Yay, Reggie is a Gryffindor. I know, totally unlikely, but he's hardly Slytherin in this story. :P Big thank you to my reviewers, Theta-McBride, N.E. Person, sk8boards4ever, guest, jeremiah123, and potterhead934! You get (drumroll please!) Gryffindor banners to hang in your virtual rooms! I hope you all enjoyed. OVER 100 REVIEWS! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! **

**I still don't own HP.**


	20. Chapter 20

"Wake up, everybody! It's my first day as a Gryffindor!" Regulus was just like his brother. They were both earlier risers, both loud, and neither of them were going to let anyone else sleep in.

"Prongs, don't make me pour water on you!"

"I'm up, I'm up," I said irritably, pulling off my covers. "What time is it?"

"5:30," Sirius and Regulus chorused.

I groaned, and pulled my covers back over my head. "Wake me in two hours."

"But, _Jamie_," Regulus whined. "It's my first day as a Gryffindor!"

"Your first day can start in two hours," I replied. "When all the sane people wake up."

"We're sane!" Sirius protested. I ignored him. Big mistake; I soon found myself soaked to the bone with ice cold water. I sat up irately, glaring at Sirius, who innocently hid an empty bucket behind his back. "Good morning."

"You are bloody annoying, you know that?" I scowled, stripping off my now soaked pajama shirt and replacing it with a t-shirt. "And I'm letting both of you move in with me."

"You know you love us," Sirius replied cheekily, and Regulus smiled angelically. I continued scowling at them. "Er... I think he's mad."

"You think?" I asked sarcastically. "You'd better leave, because once I'm dry I'm going to hex you into next week."

Regulus squeaked, and Sirius grinned, pulling his brother out of the room, leaving me alone with a still-snoring Peter and Remus.

"Are they gone?" Remus asked, sitting up. "Thank goodness. I thought they'd never leave. I'm never going to get back to sleep now."

"Nope," I agreed. "Pete will; he's still out."

"Peter can sleep through anything," Remus sighed, glancing at the still-snoring lump. "When's the full moon, tomorrow?"

"Er... yeah, I think," I shrugged. "It's gonna be fun. I really think we should take Sirius."

"I dunno," said Remus, scowling. "I might not be able to resist the temptation to rip him to shreds for getting me up so early."

"On second thought," I frowned. "Perhaps Sirius should stay here."

* * *

"You look tired," Lily noted, as I slumped into my seat next to her is Defence. "Sirius wake you up?"

"Unfortunately," I said, as Sirius ran in and sat next to me. "Hullo, Sirius. Still hyper as ever, I see."

"The Elves gave us chocolate!" Sirius beamed. "Me and Moony and Reggie."

"Oh dear," I groaned. At that moment, Remus walked in, looking calm as ever. "Hullo, Moony."

"Hullo, Prongs!" Remus grinned. "What are we doing in class today?"

"Werewolves!" Remus's head shot up. Professor Williams had just walked in and obviously proclaimed the subject. "Today we're learning all about werewolves. Who can tell me what a werewolf looks like?"

Sirius and I grinned evilly, and our hands shot up.

"Mr. Potter!"

"A werewolf," I declared happily. "Has a really fluffy tail and, when with friends, acts like a huge puppy!"

The rest of the class snickered; Remus groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Well, I suppose that may be true," Williams said jovially. "I've never seen a werewolf with friends before, so I'll take you at your word! Mr. Black!"

"A werewolf is a chocoholic overgrown puppy with very sharp teeth," Sirius answered knowledgeably, and even Remus snickered at that. "It also-"

"You gits don't know anything," Remus moaned. "A werewolf looks like a regular wolf, with a longer snout, slightly different body shape, and shorter tail. It's often hard to tell if a person is a werewolf when they're human."

"Good answer, Mr. Lupin!" Williams beamed. "That's correct- not that Mr. Potter and Mr. Black aren't, but I don't know for sure whether werewolves have fluffy tails, eat chocolate, or are 'overgrown puppies'."

Sirius and I smiled innocently at Remus, who scowled.

Williams continued much in this manner for the rest of class; Sirius, Peter, Remus, Lily and I all knew this. Remus was a werewolf, Lily and I had had this class, and Sirius, Peter and I had already researched this in second year. So, we ended up whispering to each other the entire class.

"I wonder how Regulus is doing," Sirius said lowly. "I hope the second year Gryffindors aren't being mean to him. I mean, he was a Slytherin, and most Gryffindors don't like Slytherins."

"I'm surprised your parents haven't sent him a Howler," I replied darkly. Sirius sighed, and nodded. "Maybe they won't. Maybe Phineas Nigellus didn't tell them."

"Oh, he did," Sirius glowered. "Dear Mum is just waiting for the perfect moment. Is there a way to destroy Howlers? Regulus would be horribly upset to get one."

"I have no idea," I chuckled. "Chuck it out the window."

"Toss it in the fire," Remus put in.

"Feed it to Moony," Peter suggested. Remus gave him a cross look. "Or not."

"Tear it to shreds?" Lily shrugged. "I've never gotten a Howler. James is the expert on that subject."

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "Well, okay, it is true. I know! Send it back!"

"Will that work?" Sirius asked. "I could stab it with a fork. Or with your antlers."

"Now. You aren't stabbing a Howler with my antlers," I said. "Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. What we need to figure out now is a plan of action for tomorrow night."

"Oh! The full moon," Sirius grinned. "Moony, can I come?"

"No," Remus replied. "You can't fully transform-"

"Almost, though!" Sirius insisted. "If I tried enough tonight, I should be able to by tomorrow!"

"It'd be more interesting," I added. "Some of Sirius's monologue's in the original timeline were hilarious," I grinned deviously. "Hey, Sirius, who's a good boy!?"

"Ooh, me!" Sirius exclaimed happily, before pausing, and scowling good-naturedly. "You did that on purpose!"

"I did," I chuckled, as Peter and Remus roared with laughter, drawing Professor Williams attention.

"Care to share, boys?"

"No," Sirius said.

"Sirius is a good boy," I smirked, and Sirius hit me on the arm. "Bad! Bad Sirius!"

Williams stared. "You know... I don't think I want to know."

"You don't," Lily replied. Williams shrugged, and continued his lesson; we were all passing, and he could care less if we paid attention. "Does he do tricks?"

"He could sit, roll over, and fetch," I declared, and Sirius went red. "I think I'm going to train him again."

"I'm not a dog," Sirius declared. We stared at him dubiously. "Okay, but I'm no one's pet."

"Yet," I added.

"Yet- hey!" Sirius gave me a frown. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"You make it too easy," I beamed. "If you're going to make _my_ life hard by not having an ounce of self-preservation, I'm going to tease you. Be a nice doggy, Padfoot."

"Shut it, you," Sirius replied. Remus just laughed even harder.

"Oh, don't laugh, Moony," I said wickedly. "You picked up on the 'good boy' term fairly quickly."

Remus turned red. "Please tell me I didn't."

"You did," I replied, still smiling evilly. "And Pete is scared of cats and likes cheese."

"Cats are evil!" Peter defended himself. "And cheese is _good_."

"I've seen James eat leaves," Lily declared. I blushed.

"That was once," I said. "I was really, _really_ hungry."

"Ha! So you can't tease me, Prongs!" Sirius grinned.

"Actually, I have so much more blackmail on you than you have on me," I said, leaning back in my chair. "I could tease you non-stop for the rest of the year, at least."

"Joy," Sirius sighed. "Ah, well. You have two years on me, of course you've got more blackmail. You're cheating."

"I am not!" I protested. "I'm using my knowledge to my advantage- and yours, on that note. If I never came back, you-"

"Would be dead in two years, I know," Sirius completed. "And I don't _care_."

"Wait-" Peter squeaked. "Sirius is gonna _die_!?"

"Yeah, we told you," Sirius said. Peter stared at him fearfully.

"I thought you were _joking_!" he said, staring wide-eyed. "I thought it was a prank! He's actually gonna die- you're actually from the future!?"

"Yes," I replied. "Please, let's not talk about Sirius's death. That happens to be my worst memory, I'd rather be reminded of it."

"Oh. Sorry," Peter whispered, looking very pale. "I just- he can't- Sirius is- how is it possible?"

"I thought that too," I sighed, eyes darkening. "Until I was holding him in my arms and he was cold and still. That was a huge reality check."

"You thought I was invincible?" Sirius laughed.

"I couldn't fathom you dying, Pads," I whispered. "It was- at first I thought it was a horrible nightmare, and I would wake up, and you'd be just fine. It never really dawned on me that you were never coming back until your funeral- I cried like a baby when I saw your body again."

"Oh," Sirius said. "I guess it really did affect you a lot."

"Why do you think I'm going to try so hard to save you?" I asked. "I couldn't handle you dying again."

"I guess I ought to try harder to protect myself, if it affected you so much," Sirius frowned. "I certainly don't want you to be upset."

"Always thinking of someone else," Remus chuckled weakly. "Never yourself. Can't you protect yourself for yourself?"

"Nope," Sirius said, grinning. "I could care less about my own safety."

"You are a _bloody noble git_," I scowled.

"Are you going to keep saying that?" Lily asked bemusedly. "It's getting seriously old."

Sirius opened his mouth. "No-"

"Don't!" we chorused, and Sirius shut his mouth and pouted.

"You guys never let me say that joke," he said. "But, I told you, my middle name isn't Lee."

We all groaned.

"You just _had_ to say that, didn't you?" I said, and Sirius gave me a cheeky grin. "That joke got old in first year."

"Nah, a good joke never gets old," Sirius grinned.

"It's not a good joke," Remus replied.

"You lot don't appreciate good humour," Sirius pouted, crossing his arms. "Shame. You're missing out."

"We aren't," I said. "You never shut up."

* * *

"I hate the full moon," Remus whispered, wrapping his arms around his knees. We were sitting in the Shrieking Shack, waiting for the full moon. "How could something so beautiful cause so much pain?"

"I wish I could take away your curse," I sighed. "The best I can do is be here."

"Being here is enough," Remus smiled. "You're a big help."

"I try," I said. "I hope Sirius doesn't sneak in. I doubt he's mastered his Animagus form yet and I don't want either of you getting hurt."

"I'm sure he has a bit of common sense," Remus chuckled. "Surely enough to know he shouldn't show up."

"This is Sirius we're talking about," I pointed out. "_Sirius_, who completely ignores his own safety if he can help others, and who _never listens_."

"When you put it that way..." Remus grimaced. "Keep an eye on the door."

"I will," I replied. "I wouldn't put it past Sirius to try and sneak in. Course, he's about as sneaky as a puppy whose paws are too big for its body."

"True," Remus laughed. "We'll hear him coming."

"Yep," I agreed. Just then, Remus let out a pained shout. I winced as he began morphing into a wolf, and quickly transformed into Prongs, waiting patiently.

'Prongs, you're here!' Moony exclaimed happily.

'Did you doubt me?' I asked. 'What do you want to do tonight?'

'Outside!' Moony declared, shifting anxiously. 'Play outside!'

'I'm sorry, Moony, we can't,' I said sadly. 'Not until Padfoot can help us.'

'Why can't Padfoot help us?'

'Because,' I replied. 'Padfoot can't be here yet. He isn't ready.'

'Oh,' Moony said, sitting back and nearly breaking the bed. 'Later?'

'Later,' I confirmed. 'For now, let's do something inside.'

'Okay,' Moony agreed. 'Play now?'

'Yes, we can play now,' I said amusedly. 'What would you like to play?'

Moony paused, sniffed the air, and hopped up eagerly. 'Hunt! Hunt now!'

'Oh, no, no, no,' I said, blocking the doorway. Why would Moony want to hunt? 'No hunting. There's nothing to hunt.'

'Uh-huh,' Moony declared, still sniffing the air. 'I smell human! Sort of human. Not quite human. Still human!'

I froze. That sounded like... No. He didn't.

There was a knock on the trapdoor. "Oi, Prongs, open up!"

He did.

**A/N: Hullo, hullo, hullo! An update! And a cliffhanger! Both of my parents are reading this... O.o So, can you guess who just showed up? It's pretty obvious. :P Big thank you to N. E. Person, Guest, sk8boards4ever, jeremiah123, and Theta-McBride for reviewing! Let's see, what can I give you...? Uh... how about free virtual Moony the Werewolf action figures? :) Hope you all enjoyed!**

**I still don't, and never will, own Harry Potter.**


	21. Chapter 21

'Crud,' I muttered, as Sirius continued banging on the door and Moony started growling. 'This is bad. This is really bad.'

'No it isn't,' Moony said. 'I can hunt!'

"James, if you won't open up, I'll open the bloody thing myself!" Sirius yelled irritably. James winced, and tried to stand on the trapdoor. The fact that Sirius could still _talk_, albeit with random barks and growls in between, showed that he couldn't fully transform- unless he was somehow a talking dog. "James, are you standing on the door?"

I stomped my foot in confirmation; Sirius obviously got it. "Can you move?"

I probably needed to, I mused, looking worriedly at Moony, who was quite anxious to get past me and to his 'prey'. But I couldn't let Sirius get in. Moony lunged at me knocking me off my feet. My side erupted in pain, and, although I couldn't twist my head around to see, I was pretty sure I was bleeding. I struggled to my feet, just as the trapdoor sprung open and Sirius the boy-dog bounded in.

'Sirius!" I exclaimed, hoping he'd understand. He did; he turned to look at me and grinned, which look really weird considering he was half-dog at the moment. Big mistake- Moony launched himself at Sirius the moment Sirius was distracted. I rushed forward, trying to use my antlers to pry Moony off of Sirius, who was yipping painfully. It worked too well, and Moony was tossed across the room, letting out a painful yelp as well. I winced; now we were _all_ injured.

"Ow…" Sirius said, sitting up and holding his chest. I cringed at the blood. "Hey, Prongs, you're bleeding."

'So are you,' I pointed out. I looked over at Moony. I didn't know whether or not to count myself lucky- Moony had slammed against the wall, and although he would probably have a bad concussion in the morning, he couldn't attack us anymore. I morphed back into human form, as did Sirius.

"Er… sorry?" Sirius said, smiling apologetically.

"_Sorry_?" I hissed. "Sorry!? Sirius, you could've been killed! I told you not to come! Not only that, now all three of us are hurt! Are you happy now? Can't you just _try_ to have some common sense!?"

Sirius flinched, staring sadly at his hands, looking very much like a scolded puppy. "I just wanted to help…"

"I know," I sighed, my expression softening. "But trust me when I say I have better sense when it comes to your health than you do."

"Are you okay? You're bleeding pretty bad," Sirius pointed out. I glanced down. A large gash stretched across my torso. I winced; that would hurt in the morning.

"So are you," I retorted, observing the multiple slashes across my friend's chest. "I think you're worse off."

"Nope, you are," Sirius declared stubbornly. "_I _have had worse than this, whereas _you_ haven't.," Sirius paused. "Er… please tell me you haven't?"

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "We sometimes do get pretty beat up around the full moon. Still, we ought to see Madam Pomfrey-"

"No!" Sirius exclaimed, donning a horrified look. "Don't make me go back _there_!"

I gave him a bemused look. "Sirius, you're bleeding. I'm bleeding. Moony probably has a concussion. I can't heal any of that, though Lils might be able to help Moony."

"How long do you think she'll keep us?"

"Uh… if we go now, maybe overnight or tomorrow," I said. "If we wait until Moony wakes up, probably a bit longer. I dunno if it'd be smart to risk losing too much blood, so no matter what we'll at last have to _try_ to bandage ourselves up."

"I'm good at that," Sirius declared pulling off his robe and ripping it into strips. "Come here, Prongs, I'll have you fixed up in no time."

"Forgive if I'm a bit unsure at letting you 'fix me up', but since you can't even keep yourself safe..." I said dryly, walking over to Sirius and letting him wrap strips of fabric around my torso. When he was done, he nodded his head in satisfaction, and started to use the remaining strips to stem the bleeding on his chest. "Need some help?"

"I got it," Sirius replied. "Check on Moony, will you?"

I narrowed my eyes, looking for any signs that Sirius was having trouble. Finding none, I sighed and trudged over to Moony, kneeling down beside him and checking for a pulse- Lily always said that was the most important thing to do when someone was unconscious. I smiled when I found one. "Moony should be good!"

"Great!" Sirius replied, and I noted that he'd finished wrapping himself up. "Let's stay here. We can always sneak out of the hospital wing."

"Another one of your stupid ideas?" I asked sarcastically. "Did you really think Moony wouldn't attack?"

"Well," Sirius said pensively. "I figured maybe I was animal enough that even if he did, I wouldn't be turned into a werewolf."

I froze. I hadn't even thought of that.

"Sirius," I said sharply. "Did you get _bitten_?"

"I don't think so," Sirius shrugged. "I'm sure I'd be fine, I mean, I was transformed and-"

"Sirius, the transformation wasn't complete!" I exclaimed, fresh worry flooding my mind. "Listen, take off your bandages and let me have a look to see if any of your wounds look like bite marks... Merlin, if you were _bitten_..."

Sirius looked slightly annoyed, obviously thinking there was no need, but removed his bandages and his ripped shirt. I inspected his wounds carefully, desperately hoping I wouldn't find bite marks.

"Am I good?" Sirius asked.

"Well," I said slowly. "I can't find any bite marks. But we'll see what Madam Pomfrey says," I gave Sirius and angry look. "It was stupid of you to come."

"I'm sorry," Sirius sighed, plopping down on the floor beside his bloody shirt and makeshift bandages. "I wasn't thinking- I mean, I was. But I thought it'd be fine."

"Promise me you won't put your life in danger like that again," I frowned.

Sirius gave me a long look. "Alright. I promise."

* * *

"He's waking up," Sirius declared.

"I noticed," I replied. Remus groaned, shivered, and sat up. I handed him his robe, which he took gratefully. "How are you feeling, Remus?"

"Like I ran face-first into the wall," Remus said dryly, before he glanced up at Sirius and I. "Sirius!? Bloody heck, you two are covered in blood!"

"It's fine," Sirius assured him. "I patched Jamie up; he made sure I wasn't bitten. We're fine."

Remus paled drastically. "How can you be sure!? I hurt you both! I knew this whole Animagus thing was a bad idea!"

"Actually, it was all fine 'till Padfoot showed up still half-human," I replied, sending Sirius a sharp glance. "It isn't your fault, Remus. We'll go to the hospital wing- both of us, even if I have to drag Sirius- and Madam Pomfrey will heal us up. It'll all be okay."

"Why couldn't you have been more reassuring to me?" Sirius grumbled.

"Because this is all your fault and you 'had it under control'," I answered sarcastically. "Since, if I remember correctly, I was the one freaking out and you were calm as ever."

"True, true," Sirius grinned. "What do you say we head on back to the castle before the rest of Hogwarts wakes up?"

"Right," Remus said, pulling himself to his feet, still looking at us worriedly. "Can you two make it?"

"Remus, if you don't remember, both of us have been under the Cruciatus," I pointed out. "I think we can handle a few scrapes and bruises."

Sirius snorted. "You better believe it."

Together, Remus, Sirius, and I walked back to the castle, not talking. Remus kept giving me and Sirius nervous looks. We made it to the hospital wing without incident. I was especially glad that Madam Pomfrey didn't ask questions; this incident would be rather hard to explain. She placed us all in adjacent beds, bustling about the room for potions and such.

"Whoever had the idea to bandage these wounds probably saved you a long stay here," Madam Pomfrey declared while removing the makeshift bandages. She inspected our wounds carefully. "I might ask where you got wounds from a werewolf, but I doubt you'd answer. Be thankful neither of you was bitten."

"Thank goodness," I sighed. "I was worried about Sirius."

"Well, you'll both be fine," said Madam Pomfrey. "Amazingly enough. Mr. Lupin, how in the world did you give yourself a concussion? Did you ram yourself headfirst into the wall?"

"More like someone rammed me headfirst into the wall," Remus sniggered, glancing at me with an amused smirk playing across his features. "I'm glad; I could have seriously hurt James or Sirius."

Sirius opened his mouth wide.

"Don't!" I exclaimed. "Can you ever resist the urge to say that dumb joke?"

"Comic relief, mate," Sirius grinned cheekily. "_Siriusly_."

Remus and I groaned, and Madam Pomfrey chuckled lightly, placing several potions on the each of our bedside tables. "I expect those all gone by the time I get back."

"Yes ma'am," Sirius replied, saluting her jokingly. Madam Pomfrey shook her head fondly, and left for her office. "Alright, next month I should be good to go, right?"

"Don't risk it if there's even a shadow of a doubt, and have James check your form," Remus ordered. "If things get too violent, leave immediately."

"Remus," Sirius whined. "That ruins all the fun!"

"You are going to get yourself killed one day with your 'fun'," I scowled. "So much for going out bravely."

"Hmm... I'd rather die bravely than stupidly," Sirius mused.

"That's a fine line," Remus pointed out. "Especially for you."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at Remus, who just smiled and downed a potion. "You lot might want to take your potions. Madam Pomfrey will be back soon."

I scrunched up my nose, and gulped down several vials of potions, before gagging. "Gross."

"I hate potions," Sirius declared, also drinking his potions. "Explain to me again why we have to be here?"

"Because you were an idiot," I replied. Sirius pouted. Just then, Madam Pomfrey walked in with several rolls of bandages, nodding approvingly at the empty bottles.

"Well," she said. "I didn't think you'd listen, but I suppose I was mistaken. Good job."

* * *

"What happened this time, you two?" Regulus asked nervously. It was the next morning, thankfully a weekend, and Lily, Peter, and Regulus had come to see us.

"Uh..." I said, glancing at Sirius. "We... uh..."

"They came with me last night," Remus declared. Sirius and I stared at him with wide eyes. "I guess I should tell you... I'm... I'm a werewolf."

Regulus's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened comically. "No kidding?"

"No kidding," Remus sighed, looking away. I was still staring at him; he'd _actually_ told Regulus? "I understand if you don't want to be friends anymore-"

"Sirius and James like you," Regulus said, as if this explained everything. "And they know. My parents have been wrong before, and Sirius and Jamie wouldn't be friends with you if you were evil. I mean, I'd've never guessed. You're still human- er, most of the time."

Remus looked up, and smiled. "Thanks, Reg."

"Thanks for telling me," Regulus smiled. "I hate secrets, you know."

Sirius laughed. "Okay, so that saves us the trouble of trying to explain! I was stupid and decided to go join them- we're trying to become Animagi. James, obviously, can already fully transform; I, sadly, can't. But I still wanted to help Moony, so I went anyways, but Moony, of course, attacked. So, yeah, this whole mess is my fault."

"Animagi?" Regulus gasped. "Can I try too?"

Sirius paused. "Well... I suppose you could... ask James, he's the rational one."

"I think..." I said. "You can try. But you aren't going on any full moons until you can fully transform," I glanced at Peter and Sirius. "That goes for _all_ of you."

"I never thought I'd see the day James was responsible," Lily mused. "Until... well, until that night. That's when he grew up."

"James," Sirius said seriously. "You weren't supposed to grow up."

I smiled half-heartedly at him. "Sometimes you just can't help it, Pads."

"Oh," Sirius frowned, giving me a sad look. "Well, do me a favour and be a kid for as long as you can."

"I will, Padfoot," I grinned. "I will."

**A/N: Hullo! Another chapter! Now you see, Sirius was an idiot, and they're all fine. Remus isn't happy. But they're fine. Big thank you to N. E. Person, Theta-McBride, Guest, jeremiah123, Accalia Silvermoon, potterhead934 and sk8boards4ever for your reviews! This time, you get virtual Sirius the Boy-Dog plushies (it's up to your imagination what **_**that**_** would look like XD)! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**

**I will never own Harry Potter.**


	22. Chapter 22

It was evening by the time Madam Pomfrey let us all out of the hospital wing. Regulus, Peter, and Lily were waiting for us in the boys' dorm.

"You okay, now?" Regulus beamed. "Great!"

"We were never not okay," Sirius replied, flopping down on his bed. "Right, Prongs?"

"I seem to remember blood," I said. "A lot of it. That classifies as 'not okay' in my books."

Sirius pouted. "It wasn't even that bad."

"Sirius tends to play down his injuries," Regulus declared. "He'd say he was fine even if he was bleeding to death. That's just how it is with him."

"Believe me, I know," I muttered. "He barely even flinches under the Cruciatus."

Regulus grimaced. "He doesn't scream either."

"Are you still on about that?" Sirius asked crossly. "It's _over_."

"We'll stop," said Remus. "Oh! Open the window, there's an owl."

Lily walked across the room and opened the window, and a large, black owl flew in, carrying a bright red envelope. Sirius and I glanced at each other.

"EVIL LETTER!" Sirius shouted, tackling the Howler, which the owl had dropped on Regulus's bedside table. He only succeeded, however, in knocking the table over, losing the letter, and hitting his head. I made a grab for the letter, but it slipped just out of my reach. Sirius and I made a mad scramble to grab it, but it kept floating away from us. Suddenly, there was a loud ripping sound from behind us. Sirius and I both turned slowly to see Regulus was holding half of a Howler in each hand.

"Sirius said it was evil," he declared innocently, completely clueless about what he'd just torn in half. "I destroyed it for you."

Lily smiled bemusedly, Sirius and I continued staring, and Remus burst out laughing. "You are the only person I've ever met who's torn a Howler in half."

"That was a _Howler_?" Regulus gaped, looking between each half of the torn letter, then staring at the irritated owl. "Oh... that is Mum's owl, isn't it...?"

"Yep," Sirius grinned. "Don't know why I never thought of that."

"Regulus is just smarter than you," Lily said cheekily.

"I didn't even know you could destroy a Howler," said Peter. "Wish I had."

"We should have a party," Sirius declared. "James, you and Lils stay here with Reg. Me and Moony and Pete are gonna head to Hogsmeade and get some stuff."

"Okay," I said, perfectly content with not going to Hogsmeade. Sirius grinned, and he, Remus, and Peter left the room. I blinked, contemplating the strange foreboding I felt as they left the room. I shrugged it off, and turned to Regulus and Lily. "Let's go visit Mum and Dad. Regulus, you can probably see your new room."

"Okay!" Regulus beamed. Lily laughed. "Let's go see my new room! I bet it's _awesome_!"

* * *

"James, what brings you by?" Dad asked as soon as I fell out of the fireplace. I stood up, brushing myself off. "Nothing bad, I hope?"

"Nah," I smiled widely. "Sirius and Remus and Peter are at Hogsmeade, and Reg wanted to see his new room. I figured I'd take him."

As if on cue, Regulus tumbled out of the fireplace. "Hi, Mr. Potter."

"Call me Uncle Jacob," Dad said warmly, and Lily walked gracefully into the living room next. "Hello, Lily."

"Hello, Mr. Potter," Lily replied. "I hope you don't mind us dropping in unexpectedly."

"Not at all," Mum said, walking in with a plate of cookies. "See, Jacob, I told you Jamie was coming over today. Mother's instinct. I made cookies for you, kids."

"Thanks, Mum," I beamed, grabbing a cookie. "Mmm, nothing like Mum's homemade chocolate chip cookies."

"I agree," Lily laughed. "Although Blinky makes some really good brownies!"

"These are really good," Regulus declared, grabbing another cookie. "Thanks, Aunt Carol!"

"It's no problem, Regulus," Mum smiled kindly. "Your room is right next to Sirius's. And, Lily, there's a room for you too if you ever want to stay here."

"Thanks, Mrs. Potter," Lily replied. Mum grinned at her. "Why don't you boys go check out Reg's room?"

"Okay!" I said, leading Regulus up the stairs. "Watch out coming down these, they like to trip you."

"Really?" Regulus asked, looking back at the stairs. "Why would you have stairs that try to trip you?"

"I have no idea," I shrugged. "Ask whoever built this place- well, I guess you can't, they're probably long dead by now."

"Oh," Regulus frowned. "Alright."

Regulus's room was bright and airy; a huge window occupied most of one wall, and his bed, a simple twin bed much like my own, was on the wall adjacent. The walls were a pale blue that seemed to reflect the sky itself. On the other wall, there was a large wooden dresser, adorned with little glass lion figurines, and a large, white Gryffindor lion painted above it. Regulus walked over and picked one of them up carefully, a small smile playing across his lips.

"I like this room," he declared. "It's so much... lighter... than my old one."

"I bet you anything the walls of Sirius's room are bright red," I grinned.

"Anything?" Regulus replied cheekily. "I might just take you up on that offer."

"You are Sirius's brother," I chuckled. "My room has light green walls. No huge window, though. A couple smaller ones."

"Why green?" Regulus asked curiously.

"I dunno," I mused. "Lily's eyes are green."

Regulus snickered. "That does explain it. You are so in love with her it's funny."

"We've been together for two years," I said. "I really do love her."

"Would I sound like a girl if I said that was cute?"

"Yeah, probably."

* * *

It wasn't until after dinner that anything exciting happened. In fact, I'd been childishly hoping nothing would go wrong for a while. The universe just _loves_ to prove me wrong.

"James, you and the others need to get back to Hogwarts," Dad said, walking in the room and looking very pale. "Did you say Sirius, Remus, and Peter were at Hogsmeade?"

"Yes," I replied nervously. "Are they hurt?"

"I don't know," Dad answered. "There's an attack. I've just been called over to help."

"An attack?" I asked, dread settling in the pit of my stomach. Lily paled, and Regulus turned white, eyes huge. "And I'm not there to stop Sirius from doing something stupid!"

Regulus looked especially worried. "What if Siri gets hurt- or- or worse?"

"Or Remus ad Peter," Lily added nervously.

"They'll be fine," I said, sounding a lot calmer than I felt. "He and Peter, at least, have some common sense. Sirius, however..."

"Doesn't," Regulus completed.

"James, you Floo to Dumbledore's office, not the common room," Mum suggested. "Tell him that Sirius, Remus, and Peter went to Hogsmeade. He'll know to look for them, then."

I nodded gravely, and grabbed a handful of Floo powder. "Here's hoping nothing goes wrong. Dumbledore's office!"

I stumbled out of the flames, luckily not landing on my face, to see Dumbledore and McGonagall, looking unusually pale, obviously about to go to Hogwmeade.

"Professor!" I exclaimed. They both turned to stare at me in surprise. "Sirius, Remus, and Peter are at Hogsmeade!"

If possible, the two professors went even paler.

"And what are they doing there?" asked Professor McGonagall faintly.

"Regulus destroyed a Howler," I explained. "And Sirius decided that was party-worthy, so, of course, they went to get supplies."

"We're heading out there now," Dumbledore said. "James, I'm going to ask a large task of you."

"Okay, sir."

"Do you see that amplifier?" he asked. I nodded. "I want you to alert the students of the attack. Tell them to remain in their common rooms- they are not allowed to leave under _any circumstances_. When there is an attack on Hogsmeade, Hogwarts goes into lockdown. This is a lockdown. And, James? Do stay here."

I nodded, pale and nervous. I suppose this happened in the last timeline as well. Dumbledore and McGonagall swept out of the room, and I grabbed the amplifier.

"Students of Hogwarts," I declared, unsurely at first, surprised when my voice rang out across the room and outside. I looked out a window- all the students had frozen. "Return to your common rooms immediately. Hogwarts is going into lockdown. _This is not a joke_."

I heard several students scream, and one portrait left for a moment and returned. "They're taking you seriously."

I nodded. "There's been an attack on Hogsmeade. Do not leave your common room under any circumstances. Remain calm, don't panic, and _don't leave._"

I put the amplifier down, and waited a few moments for the man in the portrait to return again. When he did I gave him a worried look. "Did they listen?"

"As far as I can tell," he confirmed.

"You're that boy who hangs out with my great-grandsons," declared Phineas Nigellus.

"I am," I replied, unfazed. "Should I go back to my common room?"

"I don't think so," said a man- Armando Dippet, I think. "After all, this is a lockdown. Did Albus remember to put up the lockdown wards? No, I don't think he did. Can you?"

"I'm fifteen," I deadpanned. "Almost sixteen. I don't know a thing about Hogwarts wards."

"Oh," Dippet frowned. "Well... sit down then. Albus left you in charge."

"No he didn't," I retorted. "He told me to warn the students."

"He effectively left you in charge," Dippet argued. "I'm surprised; most kids your age would jump at the chance to be in charge."

"I'm not," I said stubbornly. "Besides, what could I do? Dumbledore wants me to stay put. I'd rather be out at Hogsmeade, helping out. I fell useless."

"You aren't useless," one lady said kindly. "Look, see those monitors?"

"I do."

"They show the whole school," another man added. "You can keep an eye on everyone."

I glanced over, and, sure enough, the monitors showed all of Hogwarts, switching briefly between places. I caught sight of Lily and Regulus talking nervously in the Gryffindor room. In fact, every student, even the Slytherins, looked nervous. I understood why; we'd never had a lockdown before.

It was a while before Dumbledore and McGonagall returned to the office, and when they did, they looked very grave. McGonagall had a few scrapes, as did Dumbledore. I bit my lip. Where were my friends?

"How did it go here?" Dumbledore asked.

"Good," I replied. "Everyone listened."

Dumbledore nodded, and picked up the amplifier. "Students, the lockdown is now over. Return to your normal activities."

He then put it down, and gave me a solemn look.

"Where are they?" I asked urgently. "They weren't hurt, were they? Nobody died... did they?"

"There were thirteen fatalities," Dumbledore said sadly. "Thankfully, none children. Countless others were injured."

"Not," I gulped. "Not Dad?"

"No, Jacob will be fine after a short stay in St. Mungo's," Dumbledore assured me. I nodded slowly. "I wish I had seen this coming."

"I do too," I muttered. "I hadn't anticipated- I mean, they didn't dare attack Hogsmeade until my fifth year, and, even then, there was only one death."

I lowered my head for a moment, before looking up fearfully at the professors. "Sirius and Remus and Peter... are they alright?"

Dumbledore seemed to be contemplating what to say. I immediately feared the worst. "Mr. Pettigrew is under the care of Madam Pomfrey at the moment. Only minor scrapes and bruises."

I nodded. At least Pete was okay. Dumbledore paused.

"What about Sirius and Remus, sir?" I asked nervously.

"Mr. Black will be just fine after a short stay in St. Mungo's, as well," Dumbledore said slowly. I clenched my fists so Dad _and_ Sirius were hurt. "And Mr. Lupin..."

"What? Did something happen to Remus?" I frowned worriedly. "Professor?"

"Remus was taken," Dumbledore answered sadly. I felt my heart sink, and I sat down heavily. "By Bellatrix Black."

**A/N: Okay, evil cliffhanger. Shortish chapter. And Remus has been kidnapped. I contemplated making Sirius get kidnapped... but, you know, he needs a break and you lot would probably be even more angry at me. Big thanks to my wonderful reviewers, jeremiah123, N.E. Person, Guest, Theta-McBride, Lady Loophole, sk8boards4ever, Accalia Silvermoon, and potterhead934! I think, let's see... you can have Dumbledore plushies (with lemon drops)! I hope you enjoyed, despite the fact Moony was kidnapped. **

**I still don't own Harry Potter. I never will.**


	23. Chapter 23

"No!" I exclaimed. Dumbledore gave me a sad look. "I knew something bad was going to happen! How- what happened?"

"We don't know," McGonagall said heavily, wiping a stray tear from her eye. "We got there just as she Apparated away with him. We think she was making a grab for Sirius."

"Of course," I muttered bitterly. "Why couldn't it have been me? Oh, gosh, Sirius is going to feel so bad... How bad are he and Dad?"

"They will be fine," Dumbledore reassured me. "I am not positive how bad you father was. I was told he'd be absolutely fine. There isn't any permanent damage to either of them."

"Okay," I replied uneasily. "We've gotta get Remus back."

"We will," Dumbledore said softly. "Don't worry. We already have Aurors on the case."

"I'm helping," I said stubbornly. "Nobody hurts my friends, and that's two that Bellatrix has harmed. She isn't getting away. Not this time."

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall frowned sharply. I glared at her.

"She's a bloody murderer!" I growled. "She'd even kill her own cousin- she _did_ kill her own cousin!"

McGonagall's eyes widened. "What? Who?"

I froze, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled ever so slightly. "Uh..."

"Young James is actually fifteen," he declared. "He has travelled here, by my own device, I must add, to fix a terrible future. So far, I believe he and Miss Evans are succeeding."

"Sort of," I sighed. "Things have been backfiring left and right. The Death Eaters didn't dare attack Hogsmeade until my fifth year, and, even then, there was only one... only one death."

"Not one of my lions?" McGonagall asked urgently, the meaning of my previous statement obviously dawning on her. "Not Regulus or Sirius?"

"Sirius," I replied sadly, bowing my head. McGonagall let out a choked sort of sob. "I was there. Regulus, at that point, was still a Slytherin. He wasn't resorted until he ran away after Sirius... after he died."

"Oh, my poor little lions!" McGonagall exclaimed, and I was taken by surprise when she rushed forward and hugged me. "So brave! All of you!"

"Er... thanks?" I said, my face heating up. "Sirius is the really brave one. He always has been. Noble git."

"Well," McGonagall said crisply, pulling away and sniffling slightly. "At least you can save him. Tell me if I may be of any help- now _wonder_ your grades shot up!"

"No wonder," I said dryly. "Now isn't the time, okay. We've got to find Remus."

"Yes, that's right," McGonagall said sheepishly. "The problem, is we've no idea where they've taken him."

I frowned. "Well, we'll have to look, then, won't we? And when we find him, Sirius can't come. He'll just get hurt."

"I don't think you should come, either," Dumbledore said slowly, and I turned to face him, glaring. "It's just as dangerous for you."

"Does it _look_ like I care?" I growled. "I am going. There is nothing you can do to stop me."

"There isn't much we can do to prevent Sirius from coming," McGonagall pointed out softly. I clenched my fists; McGonagall was right. Very right.

"Then we rescue Remus before Sirius gets out of St. Mungo's," I said. "He doesn't even need to know."

"And your other friends?"

"Peter wouldn't want to go," I replied. "Lily's smart, she can keep an eye on Regulus," I paused. "I'm going to go, tell Lils and Reg. Try a tracking charm, will you? I will, too. As long as he isn't under the Fidelius, we should be able to find him."

It felt kind of weird giving orders to McGonagall and Dumbledore, and I was probably way out of line, but they both nodded, and I swept out of the room, my anger overpowering any other emotion at the moment. People in the halls stared at me, clearing a path. I made it to the Gryffindor common room in record time. Lily and Regulus were waiting for me just inside.

"James," Regulus smiled slightly, black eyes quite fearful. "Where are they?"

"Pete's in the hospital wing, Siri is at St. Mungo's," I took a deep, shaky breath. "And I don't know where Remus is."

"What do you mean, you don't know where he is?" Lily asked fearfully.

I frowned darkly. "Bellatrix grabbed him and Apparated away. McGonagall thinks she was trying to get Padfoot. The point is, the Death Eaters have Remus."

"No!" Regulus exclaimed, before sitting down heavily on the couch, burying his face in his hands. "My own cousin kidnapped my friend..."

"She's terrible," Lily cried. "Oh, poor Remus. You're going to save him, right?"

"Course I am," I replied. Regulus got a determined look on his face, and I groaned. "No, Regulus, you aren't going with us. I'm probably not even going to tell Sirius."

"Remus is my friend too! Regulus said stubbornly, hopping up. "Let me come!"

"No, it's too dangerous," I frowned sternly. "I don't want anyone getting hurt. Except maybe Bellatrix."

Lily looked like she wanted to reprimand me, but she sighed and nodded resignedly.

"I'm going to visit Dad and Sirius," I declared. "Regulus, would you like to come?"

Regulus sighed, and shook his head. "I'd rather not right now. I'm gonna go hang out in the dorm."

He sulked away up the stairs, looking very much like Sirius whenever things didn't go his way. I glanced to Lily. "Keep an eye on him, will you?"

"Don't worry," she smiled. "I'll look after him. Go see your dad and Sirius."

* * *

"James, how are you?" Dad greeted happily the moment I walked in. I must not have looked very happy, because his face fell almost immediately. "What's wrong?"

"Have you heard about Remus?" I asked miserably. Dad nodded solemnly, sitting up awkwardly in the hospital bed. "I'm going after him, you know. You can't stop me."

"I don't plan to," said Dad. "You have strength beyond your years."

"Isn't it 'wisdom beyond your years'?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Dad laughed, and nodded, eyes twinkling. "We're leaving after I visit Sirius."

"Are you going to tell Sirius?" Dad asked, giving me a knowing look.

"Well... no..." I admitted. "I don't need him going after Remus."

"Trust me, these Healers mean business," Dad laughed. "Sirius isn't going anywhere."

"You've underestimated the power of Sirius's hero complex," I said dryly. "If I tell him, he'll be out faster than you can say rescue."

"Did you tell Regulus?"

"Yeah, and I have Lily watching him," I replied. "He's every bit as stubborn as his brother."

"Must run in the family," Dad chuckled, before turning solemn again. "Listen, James. Going after Remus will be dangerous. I want you to promise me that you'll be careful. Don't do anything stupid."

"I won't," I promised. "I'll be careful; we'll get Remus back. And maybe we'll even catch Bellatrix."

"Don't count your geese before they hatch, kiddo," Dad smiled, and I gave him a weird look. "Muggle saying."

"I know," I replied. "And it's chickens, not geese, Dad."

"Oh," Dad said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I knew I messed that up."

"I still don't know," I frowned. "Whatever happened to you?"

"Some Dark curse got me in the leg," Dad replied, gesturing to his leg, which was heavily bandaged. "They're making me stay here until it's better; it's like they think I'll make it worse."

"You would," I grinned cheekily. "Especially if you're anything like me. Which you are."

"Ah, yes, you're probably right!" Dad laughed. "Well, kiddo, you'd better go see Sirius. I dunno what happened to him, but I know he'll probably be anxious for news."

"I almost hope he's asleep so I don't have to lie to him," I admitted. Dad shook his head smiling.

"Go see him, Jamie," he beamed. I nodded, and walked out the door, dreading lying to my best friend. A kind Healer led me to Sirius's room. I gently pushed the door open and walked in.

"Padfoot?" I called. He waved from his bed, gesturing for me to come over. I pulled a chair over and sat by his bed. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was trampled by a Hippogriff," Sirius chuckled. "That seems to be the recurring theme. How are the others?"

"Er, fine," I said, only half-lying. For all I knew, Remus was perfectly fine. Sirius gave me sceptical look. "Well, you know, mostly."

"I'm not stupid, you know," he said. "I saw Bellatrix grab Remus. Have you got him back yet?"

I gulped; I hadn't been expecting that. "No. We haven't."

"Great, I can join in the fun," Sirius declared, and though the words were conversational, his expression was determined. "When do we leave?"

"We?" I repeated. "_You_ aren't going anywhere, Mr. I-was-trampled-by-a-hippogriff."

"That was an exaggeration!" Sirius insisted. "I'm absolutely fine."

To prove his point, he climbed right out of bed and started walking to the door, only to stumble and fall flat on his face, groaning slightly and turning red from obvious embarrassment.

"Yep," I said dryly, helping him up. "Absolutely fine."

"I am fine," Sirius claimed resolutely. "See, that didn't even hurt."

"Sure," I replied, raising an eyebrow. "Should we see what the Healers say about your supposed status of 'fine'?"

Sirius paled. "Er, no, let's not. You've actually got to help me sneak out of here."

"Why?"

"Because," he frowned. "All the potions, and they think I'm 'bad off' and I'll need to stay for 'a while' and they want to do a full scan, in which case they'll find out _everything_ my parents did to me and they'll keep me here even longer!"

"It can't be that bad," I replied, frowning and thinking what could possibly be so bad Sirius didn't want the Healers to know. "I've seen the scan thing Mum did. Mum didn't take you to St. Mungo's."

"Yeah, I saw it too," Sirius said. "And that only went back to when I was ten."

I blanched. "But- but that was a whole lot of injuries, there's no way, in three years-"

Sirius laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, yes, there's a way. To tell you the truth, my parents loved me up until I was four and I started going against them. Little things at first, they never used the Cruciatus until I was six."

I collapsed heavily into my chair as Sirius got back into his bed. "You were six? Sirius, what could possibly make them use that curse on a toddler?"

"I tried to befriend a Muggle," Sirius declared. "I'd been slowly realizing there was nothing wrong with them since I first saw one when I was four."

"Merlin, Sirius," I whispered, shaking my head slightly. "How are you still _sane_?"

"I'm stubborn," Sirius grinned. "I rather like my sanity, thanks. Besides, we're all a _little_ crazy."

"Some more than others," I teased weakly, head reeling from this new revelation. I'd had no idea how bad my best friend- my brother's childhood had been. "I'm so sorry, Pads."

"Don't be," Sirius said, waving his hand lazily. "It's in the past. Now, what do you say you get me out of here and we go be the crazy Gryffindors we are and go rescue Remus?"

I hesitated; that sounded like a very bad plan, and, yet, I couldn't help but wonder if it actually _was _a good idea. Granted, I would rather Sirius stay here and safe... but, he was right, the Healers would probably never let him go if they found out about Sirius's childhood. I knew from Mum's face the other day; he was a medical miracle, just because he was still sane.

"Tell you what," I said slowly. "How about I get you out of here _only_ if you promise to listen to me and not do anything dumb."

Sirius's eyes lit up like it was Christmas Day. "You bet, Prongs. This is going to be absolutely wonderful!"

I chuckled, and wondered vaguely how bad he'd take it when I told him to stay at Hogwarts with Lily and Regulus.

**A/N: Finally finished this! And you still don't know anything about Moony cause I haven't decided some specifics yet. Some more of poor Siri's childhood revealed. Makes me want to seriously hurt his parents. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Big thank you to jeremiah123, Theta-McBride, Accalia Silvermoon, N.E. Person, and sk8boards4ever for reviewing! Let's see, since you haven't seen poor Moony since last chapter, you can have plushies of him! :) Hope you liked it!**

**I will never own Harry Potter.**


	24. Chapter 24

"Sirius!" Lily exclaimed, as Sirius and I stepped out of the fireplace. She glared at me. "James! You snuck him out!"

"Maybe," I replied innocently. Regulus beamed, and grabbed his brother in a bone-crushing hug. Sirius winced, but hugged his brother back.

"It was my idea," Sirius admitted. "I didn't want the Healers doing a full scan on me, and those potions taste _awful_."

"They do," I added. "Really, really awful."

"Since when have you ever been to St. Mungo's?" Sirius asked sceptically.

"Mum made me go after the Attack on Hogsmeade," I replied softly. "I'd been under the Cruciatus too, and she was really worried about me. I think I went into shock after you died. I don't remember much those next few days."

"Oh yeah," Sirius said, biting his lip. "Sorry."

"No worries," I replied. "You weren't thinking."

"Sirius doesn't think very often," Regulus whispered loudly to me. Sirius looked put out as Lily and I laughed.

"Haha, very funny, Reg," Sirius said irritably, but there was a smile pulling at his lips. "Glad you lot weren't there. It's bad enough with Remus..."

"So James actually told you?" Lily asked, sending me a furtive glance.

"He already knew," I frowned. "He saw it happened."

"Just before I blacked out," Sirius admitted. "I wasn't even positive it was Remus. James sort of confirmed that. So, are you two in on the rescue mission?"

"Rescue mission!?" Regulus asked eagerly, beaming. "Yes! Definitely! When do we leave?"

"_We_ aren't going anywhere," I declared. "You three are staying put- Lily, the only reason I want you to stay is to watch these too, I know you can take care of yourself."

"But I wanna come!" Regulus whined.

Sirius looked dumbfounded. "But James, I thought that was the whole point of breaking me out? So we could go get Remus."

"No, the whole point was to get you away from the Healers and potions," I retorted. "I never said you were going to get to go on some elaborate rescue mission and get yourself killed."

"I won't get myself killed," Sirius grumbled, but he didn't have time to argue further, because McGonagall burst in that instance.

"Potter, we know where they have him," she declared. I nodded determinedly. "Er- why is Mr. Black here?"

"He didn't want to stay at St. Mungos'," I answered. "I figured it'd be safer if I broke him out. He's really bad with his escape attempts; he'd've probably hurt himself."

McGonagall groaned. "Once a Marauder, always a Marauder. Even after time travelling!"

"You know!?" Regulus blurted. McGonagall nodded, sighing.

"Alright, well, Mr. Potter. We've found his whereabouts. He's a few miles into the Forbidden Forest," McGonagall declared. Sirius's eyes got a glint that I didn't like, and I face-palmed.

"Professor," I said. "You just told me where he is- that's great and all, but you also told _Sirius_."

McGonagall whitened. "Oh dear. I did, didn't I?"

"Well, then, I'll just be off," Sirius declared, and before anyone could stop him, he raced out of the common room. I slumped down onto the couch, my face in my hands.

"He's going to get himself killed," I moaned, before looking up. "Regulus, please stay here. We've already got enough problems, especially with your brother out there."

Regulus nodded. "Alright. I don't want to get in the way."

I smiled at him, before turning to McGonagall. "Tell Dumbledore Sirius has run off to save Remus. I'm going to go ahead into the forest after him; hopefully I'll catch him before he runs into trouble."

"Potter, be careful," McGonagall said. I nodded, smiling grimly, before rushing after Sirius. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one out and about. I ran straight into Snape, and we both tumbled backwards to the floor.

"Potter!" Snape exclaimed. "Where are you going?"

"To save Sirius and Remus," I replied, hopping to my feet. "Feel free to do as you wish, I've got to go before Sirius gets himself killed."

I started running again, and footsteps behind me indicated Snape was following. I rolled my eyes, but didn't slow down or stop to tell him to leave. If he wanted to follow me, fine. I could use the help. I reached the forest, and Snape skidded to a stop behind me.

"We're going in _there_?" he asked, sounding the slightest bit nervous. "Are you mad?"

"That's where the Death Eaters have Remus," I declared, glancing back at Snape, who'd gone pale. "And Sirius ran after him. Besides, I never said you had to come."

With that, I took off into the forest. To my surprise, Snape followed only after a moment's hesitation. "Lupin- er, Remus was taken?"

"Yes," I replied, not looking back. I whipped out my wand, and motioned for Snape to be the same. "We don't know where he is, just that he's in the forest a few miles in. We've gotta look out for Death Eaters and creatures in the Forbidden Forest. I'm almost positive there are Acromantulas in here."

"For a thirteen year old, you sure give orders easily," Snape mused, eyeing me suspiciously.

I gave him a grim look. "When you been through what I've been through, then you sort of get used to being responsible."

Snape looked taken aback. "What could possibly be so bad about your perfect little life, Potter?"

"This may not be the best time to tell you, but me and Lily are from the future," I said offhandedly, surprising even myself.

"_What_!?"

"Yes, yes, well, you'd've found out anyways," I replied, suddenly wondering what compelled me to tell Snape. "Lily's probably going to be mad at me."

"What happened?" Snape asked quietly. "What happened in the future that was so bad that you came back?"

"I think a lot led up to it..." I admitted. "Voldemort was winning. I- no one realized how bad things were until Voldemort attacked Hogsmeade and Sirius-"

I cut myself off; that was still painful to think about, especially with both Sirius and Remus in danger.

"I think I understand," Snape said slowly. "You don't need to explain. Well, we'd better go save Black and Remus," he started ahead of me. "Coming, Po- James?"

"You called me James," I noted, smiling almost cheekily. Snape raised an eyebrow. "Right. Let's go, then."

* * *

"Look," Snape hissed, pulling me into a bush. I sat up, disgruntled, and picked leaves out of my hair. Snape gestured to the clearing before us- it was teeming with Death Eaters, and there were several tents.

"This must be their camp," I realized. Suddenly, the bushes on the other side quivered, and Bellatrix burst into the camp, laughing maniacally.

"Guess what!?" she cackled. "Guess who I've found!?"

I felt dread settle into my stomach as two large Death Eaters pulled a struggling Sirius into the clearing. Snape grabbed me as I tried to leap out of the bush.

"No," he hissed. "We're no use if we're captured too!"

"Fine," I whispered, if only because Sirius looked uninjured. "But if she hurts him-"

"I know, I know, you'll go save your boyfriend," I scowled at Snape and hit him on the arm. "Right. Shutting up."

"He came looking for his little werewolf friend!" Bellatrix declared, beaming evilly. "He came just in time! Our friend Greyback has just arrived to collect little Lupin!"

"No!" Sirius shouted. "You leave him alone!"

"Ooh, poor ickle Siri, worried about his friend," Bellatrix cooed in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Maybe you should keep you mouth shut, baby cousin. _Crucio_!"

Snape immediately slapped his hand over my mouth, preventing me from crying out as Sirius struggled even more against his captors, face screwed up in pain. I bit Snape's hand.

"Ouch!" he snapped, shaking his hand. "Gross, Potter!"

I took his distraction as a moment to burst into the clearing and tackle Bellatrix to the ground. Sirius's eyes widened in horror as he spotted me. "James! What are you doing here!?"

"Saving you and Remus!" I exclaimed, pointing my wand at Bellatrix's face. "Never hurt my friends again!"

"Come to join the party, Potter?" Bellatrix sneered. "You're just in time. The guest of honour is arriving."

There was a strange sound. I turned, almost dreading what I would see. I stared in disgust; a man (if you could even call him that), skin pale as death, eyes red as blood, snakelike in appearance.

Voldemort.

"You!" Sirius shouted, and I didn't know whether to envy him for his bravery or pity him for his stupidity. "So you still look like a snake? Shame, _you'll_ never have a girlfriend- except maybe Bella."

I groaned.

"Hmm, you're the Black boy," Voldemort said boredly. "Hardly worth my time, I think. That was a dumb comment boy."

Voldemort flicked his wand, and a long, deep gash appeared across Sirius's chest. My glare hardened as Sirius cried out in pain.

"Who's this?" Voldemort asked, eyeing me curiously. "The Potter boy? A formidable force, I hear. You would do well in my ranks, boy."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Did he actually think I'd join him?

"Don't do it, James!" Sirius yelled. "He's not worth it!"

"I know," I said, glaring at Voldemort with total hatred. "I'd rather die than join you, Voldemort."

"So be it," Voldemort said softly, and he shot a spell at me that caught me in the shoulder and threw me off Bellatrix. I felt a sharp pain and a warm liquid on my shoulder and touched it, withdrawing to see blood.

Bellatrix got to her feet. "Milord, use the other boy. My cousin; he is Potter's weak spot."

My eyes widened, and terror coursed through my body. I ran forward as fast as I could, shielding Sirius. "No! Don't touch him!"

"James," Sirius murmured, putting a hand on my good shoulder. "James, don't worry. Find Remus. I'll hold their fire, don't worry about me though-"

"Padfoot," I said shakily. "I'm not going to let you get hurt."

"Well," said Voldemort. "I'll just kill you both then. _Avada Ka-"_

"Not this time, Voldemort!" To my immense surprise, Severus raced out of the bush, wand out. "_Expelliarmus_!"

Voldemort was caught off guard, and his wand flew out of his hand. "You dare! Who are you, boy!? Why do you dare to defy me, Lord Voldemort!?"

"More like Lord Stuck-Up Snake," Sirius muttered to me. "Okay, go get Remus. Snape and I can distract them. Then we'll all leave together, okay?"

"Alright," I agreed unsurely. Sirius nodded determinedly, and stepped forward.

"Hey, Voldie!" he exclaimed. "Is this," he gestured to his bleeding chest, "the best you can do?"

I edged towards the tents as Voldemort's eyes flashed as he turned to Sirius. "You want _more_, boy? Well, try this new spell I discovered: _Crucio Maximus!_"

I'd never heard that one before; I spun around, just as Sirius fell to the ground screaming. Severus caught my eye, and mouthed, 'Go.'

I clenched my fists and nodded, trying to block Sirius's agonized screams from my mind, a desperate mantra running through my head. _Let him be okay, let him be okay._

To my amazement, fate was on my side; Remus was in the very first tent, tied up and looking worried and miserable, but otherwise unharmed.

"James!" he exclaimed. "Is that- that sounds like-"

"Sirius," I said gravely, and Remus paled. "I know; c'mon, let's hurry up."

Remus nodded worriedly, and I set to cutting the ropes. Within a few minutes, Remus was free. It had gone strangely silent outside the tent, and I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

We ran outside quickly, before stopping in horror. There were no Death Eaters about, and McGonagall and Dumbledore arrived, along with a few Aurors I recognized. They were huddled around something I couldn't see- and I also couldn't see Snape or Sirius. I rushed forward pushing my way through the crowd, before dropping to my knees. Snape looked at me helplessly.

"I tried to help, I really did," he said, but I wasn't listening. Because lying before me in a crumpled, bloody heap was none other than my best friend.

**A/N: Please don't kill me! I'm sorry, the inspiration just hit me! Don't kill me! At least Moony is okay... heh heh... I need to find myself a shield or something, I think... Big thank you to my reviewers, jeremiah123, Lady oophole, sk8bords4ever, and Theta-McBride for reviewing! You all get life size Siri plushies! Er... still, please don't kill me *puppy dog look*! Hope you enjoyed!**

**I will never, ever, ever, ever own Harry Potter.**


	25. Chapter 25

"No!" I whispered, grabbing Sirius's hand and clutched it like a lifeline. "No, no, no... Padfoot, wake up, Padfoot! Sirius- please get up, wake up..."

"James, he isn't...?" Remus asked, knocking me back to my senses. I quickly checked Sirius for any signs of life, hoping desperately that he was indeed alive.

"He's alive," I sighed, wiping my moist eyes. "We've gotta get help."

"Yes, of course," said Professor McGonagall. An Auror whom I recognized as Alastor Moody walked forward, looking slightly disconcerted by Sirius's still form.

"I've got a emergency portkey to St. Mungo's," he declared, handing me a sheet of parchment. "Go. Take care of your friends. If your father taught me anything, it's-"

"Constant vigilance," I replied mechanically. I didn't even have time to thank him as Sirius and I were whisked away. Just my luck, the Healer on duty was none other than my mother.

"Jamie!" she cried, before spotting Sirius and covering her mouth in surprise. "What happened to him?"

"I don't know," I said gravely, the emotionless mask that I'd had after Sirius's death in my timeline creeping back onto my face. "Please, help him."

"I'll do my best," Mum murmured, taking Sirius from me. I held on to him for as long as I could, my arm still extended as his hand slipped out of mine. When he was out of sight, I walked unconsciously to the Floo and flooed to the Gryffindor common room. It wasn't until I saw Regulus's worried and hopeful expression that I lost it. I collapsed into the couch, sobbing, not caring who saw me. Regulus and Lily were at my side instantly.

"What's wrong? Is it Remus?" Lily asked nervously. "Jamie?"

"I-it isn't R-remus," I replied shakily. "This is a-all my fault, I should've- should've- there had o of been s-something I could have done!"

Regulus seemed to be putting two and two together, and his eyes widened. "Something happened to Siri."

He said it in the same emotionless tone I'd used earlier.

"I-I was so scared!" I sobbed. "I thought h-he was d-dead at first! H-he was still a-and pale a-a-and there was so much blood!"

"Siri," Regulus whimpered. I pulled him into a hug, and he started sobbing into my shirt. I felt even more horrible; it was my fault Sirius had been hurt. I shouldn't have left him.

"It isn't your fault, Jamie," Lily soothed, rubbing my back. "How- how bad...?"

"I don't know," I whispered. "I left after Mum took him away. It was- bad..."

"I'm scared, Jamie," Regulus muttered. "What if he dies?"

"He won't," I declared, even though I wasn't sure how true my statement was. "He can't."

"James," Lily said softly, and I looked up to meet her tearful green eyes. "He _can_."

* * *

It was an hour before we had any news on Sirius. Remus had returned to the common room, along with a very confused Peter and a very apologetic Snape.

"I'm really sorry, I should have been more careful- kept an eye on him better... I don't know what I was thinking, I really didn't mean for him to get hurt-"

So apologetic, in fact, that we couldn't get him to shut up until my mum walked through the fireplace.

"Hello, kids," she greeted, a strange expression I couldn't place on her face. "Well, I've got good news and bad news."

"Good news first please," Peter piped in nervously.

"Sirius will live," Mum declared, and Regulus let out a joyful shout.

I beamed, before narrowing my eyes. "What's the bad news?"

"The bad news," Mum sighed, and she bit her lip. "Well, we'll be keeping him in St. Mungo's for a while and..."

"And...?" Regulus coaxed, his mood thoroughly dampened.

"And we know for a fact there will be brain damage-" Mum caught my and Regulus's horrified looks. "It may just be memory loss," she assured us. I leaned back heavily into the couch. "We don't know how much. It could just be the attack."

"Right," I said. "And worst case scenario?"

"Worst case scenario..." Mum frowned pensively, before sighing. "I think you know, Jamie."

I swallowed, closing my eyes tightly. "Yeah. I think I do."

"I don't!" Regulus mumbled, leaning against me. "I'm scared."

"I know, Reg," I replied, putting an arm around him. "So am I..."

"Don't worry," Mum said, futilely trying to comfort us. "We'll do the best we can, I'm sure Sirius will be just fine."

"There's only so much you can do if he isn't sane," I muttered darkly; beside me, Regulus stiffened. "I never should have let him leave in the first place. This is all my fault."

"It's not, Jamie," Regulus declared. "I don't blame you, and I know Siri wouldn't."

"Regulus is right," Remus agreed. "Padfoot wouldn't blame you. Padfoot would either blame Voldemort or, well, let's face it, himself."

"He can't blame himself!" I exclaimed, sitting up suddenly. "That's- that's insane!"

"Well, we all know he might be," Snape pointed out. Lily narrowed her eyes, stomped over, and slapped him across the face. "Ow!"

"If you don't have anything nice to say, maybe you should leave!" Lily growled.

"I was just pointing out the obvious!" Snape defended himself, before grimacing, and turning to Regulus and I. "Er... sorry... that was kind of tactless of me."

I gave a dry, mirthless laugh. "Don't worry. You've apologized enough today."

"Well, I better get going," Mum said miserably, obviously just upset as I was. She turned to the fireplace, and paused, glancing back at us. "Everything will be alright. You'll see. Be strong; for Sirius."

With that, she stepped into the fireplace and disappeared in a flurry of green flames.

"Things are really spiralling out of control, aren't they?" Lily sighed, sitting down beside me. "Maybe we never should have come back..."

"No!" I cried. "No, because then Voldemort would still be winning and Sirius would still be dead. At least this way he's _alive_. We saved your parents, didn't we? Sirius is going to be fine! He _has_ to be fine!"

"James is right," Regulus agreed. "You've obviously done some good, right? Like Aunt Carol said, it might not even be that bad. Sirius has got to be okay, he's strong!"

"And Voldemort isn't winning," Snape added. "You've stopped a lot of attacks, haven't you?"

"But there've been others!" Lily retorted dejectedly. "Our attempts to change things are _backfiring_. What if we _can't_ save the future? What if we make it _worse_?"

"You won't," Peter said determinedly. "And it isn't just you two. You have me and Remus and Sirius and Regulus and Dumbledore and McGonagall and Snape and James's parents. We're all in this together."

"One for all and all for one," Remus smiled. "Look, it's going to be alright."

Lily bit her lip. "I hope you're right."

* * *

"Any news?" Snape asked me in an undertone. We were in Potions; it had been two days since Sirius had been taken to St. Mungo's, and we still had no idea if he'd be alright.

"None," I admitted miserably. "This is horrible."

"I know," Snape agreed quietly. "I feel guilty."

I snorted mirthlessly. "You have no idea."

"At least you have no real reason to feel guilty," Snape continued. "I was busy fighting on my own while he was being attacked. I should have been watching his back. I'd bet he was watching mine."

"Knowing Sirius," I nodded. "Don't worry; I don't blame you- you've every right to hate him (and me, for that matter) because of how we treated you."

"It's in the past," Snape replied uncomfortably.

I looked at him for a moment. "I really am sorry for that. I was a git before... well, before what happened. Lily's told me time and time again."

"She would," Snape smirked slightly. "That's just like her."

We sat in companionable silence for a while, working quietly on our potion. My mind started drifting. What if Sirius lost all his memories? What if he couldn't remember me? What if he _wasn't_ sane? I didn't know what I'd do... it would be like losing him all over again. I hated feeling this helpless; the last time I'd felt like this, Sirius had died. I desperately hoped that wasn't some sort of sick premonition, especially considering the universe seemed to hate me.

"Well done, boys!" Slughorn boomed jovially, passing by our table. He examined our potion, which was perfect thanks to Snape's adeptness at the subject. "See, this is how it's done!"

"It was all Severus," I declared.

"Actually, James helped out a lot too," Snape countered. The entire room stared at us; they were obviously dumbfounded to see Severus Snape and James Potter not only getting along, but also giving each other credit for class work.

"Hmm, I was positive you two hated each other," mused Alice, the young Gryffindor girl Frank Longbottom fancied. "And that hatred would be passed down to James's son when James was murdered."

I gave her a weird look, and she gave me a dreamy smile.

"But apparently I was wrong," she declared. "I think that was what I thought, anyways. I can't quite remember."

She then went back to working with her partner, oblivious to the stares.

"Well," coughed Slughorn awkwardly. "Good job, boys. Feel free to leave," he fixed me with a stare and lowered his voice. "I daresay you'd like to try and check on your friend, Mr. Potter?"

"Yeah," I nodded. Slughorn smiled, and beckoned for me to go. I shrugged, and left the room, running to the Gryffindor common room. A thought struck me: what if they wouldn't let me see him?

I nodded to myself, and went upstairs to grab my invisibility cloak, before flooing to St. Mungo's. I walked calmly up to the witch at the front desk. "I'd like to see Sirius Black."

"He's in room 207 in the Reversible Spell Damage Ward," she said dully. "But you can't go up there. They aren't allowing visitors right now. Sorry, kid."

"Oh. Alright," I said, trying to look disappointed, before leaving the room and slipping on my invisibility cloak. I snuck my way up to Sirius's room, all the way on the fourth floor- I was just glad he wasn't in the ward for irreversible spell damage. Luckily, there was no one in there when I opened the door- that'd of been a sight. I caught sight of Sirius's bed at the end of the room, and walked over, pulling up a chair. I sucked in a sharp breath.

Pale and still, save for the rise and fall of his chest, Sirius looked to be asleep. Had it not been for several small cuts on his face, I'd've thought nothing wrong with him. But, looking closer, I could see that he was paler than usual, and his breathing was strange; not like the steady breathing he had when he was asleep.

"Hey, Pads," I said softly. "Guess it isn't much use talking to you if you're unconscious, huh?"

No response, as expected.

"Everyone's missing you," I continued. "Snape feels real bad about what happened. But you don't blame him, do you, Padfoot? Do you blame me? I never should have left you alone..."

More silence. It was unnerving; Sirius was one of the most talkative people I knew.

"I wish you'd wake up," I admitted. "I wish you'd sit up and tell me that I'm being a weak idiot, and that you're absolutely fine."

I sighed.

"But you aren't fine," I added. "You can tell me that all you want, I'll never believe you."

I sat there awkwardly for a few moments, realizing I was pretty much talking to myself.

"I miss you," I murmured. "So does Reggie. Life isn't the same without you. Classes are even more boring and dull. If- _when_ you get back to school, we'll have to do some serious pranking."

I paused, subconsciously waiting for the typically inevitable pun.

"I even miss that stupid joke," I muttered, sighing bitterly. "Please wake up, Sirius..."

Suddenly, I heard a tiny groan. Could he be waking up? My eyes snapped to Sirius's pale face, as his grey eyes fluttered open.

**A/N: Cliffhanger! Again! But, at least Padfoot is alive. Now you probably want to know if he remembers anything. :P Okay, so I am a little evil. I'm so glad- 25 chapters! Big thanks to Theta-McBride, Accalia Silvermoon, CuriousGuest, sk8boards4ever, jeremiah123, N. E. Person, and siavault1018 for your reviews! Free cheesecake that you can share with poor Siri (unless, of course, you'd like to eat the cheesecake)! I hope you guys enjoyed, and are less likely to kill me now! **

**I still do not own Harry Potter.**


	26. Chapter 26

"Sirius," I whispered. His wide grey eyes focused on me, and for a moment, I thought he didn't recognize me. "Siri... how are you?"

"James?" Sirius asked, and I let out a sigh of relief. He knew me. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You're at St. Mungo's," I answered, smiling slightly. I had been worried. "I guess you don't remember? How much _do_ you remember?"

"Um... Regulus got resorted," Sirius replied. "And I think we went by your place. Then it's all a blank."

He looked at me fearfully. "What's wrong with me? Why can't I remember?"

"Well," I said, biting my lip. He'd forgotten a lot more than I'd hoped. "You were being an idiot in class-"

"Go figure," Sirius snorted.

I chuckled fondly. "And then you were an even bigger idiot and tried to go with us on the full moon. And we both got hurt."

"Sorry," Sirius winced.

"It's fine," I said. "I was more worried about you. Anyways, that evening Reg got a Howler, which he ripped in half-"

Sirius let out a barking laugh. "Brilliant!"

"Um, then you and Moony and Pete went to Hogsmeade and there was an attack," I continued. Sirius paled. "Remus was taken by Bellatrix-"

"What!?" Sirius exclaimed, shooting up. "We've gotta get him back- ow!"

"Calm down, don't give yourself a headache. We have," I assured him. Sirius nodded, and laid back down, clutching his head. "You got hurt in the rescue mission- I... I don't even know what happened. Voldemort showed up; he cursed you after you teased him. You told me to go get Remus, that you'd hold him off. When I got back outside..."

I took a deep, shaky breath. "I thought I'd lost you again."

"Oh," Sirius said. "Whoops?"

"_Whoops_?" I repeated."_Whoops_? That's what you have to say? Padfoot, you could have died!"

"Yes, that seems to be a recurring theme here," Sirius replied, smiling cheekily. "If I had a quarter for every time you've told me that..."

"This is serious, Padfoot!"

"I know; I am Sirius."

"For once in your life, can you just realize that _life_ _isn't a joke_!" I exclaimed. Sirius looked slightly hurt, and I immediately regretted getting angry with him. "I'm sorry, Siri, I lost my temper-"

"I don't think life is a joke," Sirius said softly, and there was an undertone to his voice I didn't really like. "I know that more than anyone, James. My parents _tortured_ me- just because I was different! My own cousin wants to kill me! Forgive me if I have no self-preservation, but, you know, my life never really mattered to _anyone_ until you came around! I was just there; miserable, lonely, living in the loosest sense of the word! Maybe I like to pretend life is good to keep myself going! Maybe the only thing I really have is humour! I never had a childhood; my life was always a living nightmare! Maybe I'd like it to be all _sunshine and daisies_ for _once in my life_!"

I flinched, feeling absolutely horrible. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I didn't mean to say that. It's just... you're always so nonchalant when I'm worrying my head off about you."

"Well, you'd be the first person to ever do that," Sirius laughed mirthlessly.

"Regulus cares for you," I said. "And your uncle Alphard, he likes you, right? And Andromeda"

"Uncle Alphard was disowned when I was younger," Sirius replied. "And if Regulus or Andy showed any affection towards me, they were punished."

"I know I've said this before," I said. "But your parents are really messed up, mate."

"Don't I know it," Sirius sighed dramatically. Just then the door creaked open, and my mum walked in. She caught sight of me immediately.

"James Charlus Potter!" she cried. "What are you doing here! There are _no visitors allowed_!"

"I, for one, am glad he came," Sirius piped in. Mum fixed her gaze on him, eyes widening comically.

"Sirius!" she exclaimed. "Why, you weren't supposed to wake up for another two days at the earliest! How are you? How much do you remember, dear?"

"Er, I'm fine-"

"Which means something feels bad," I added. "Sirius, just tell Mum the truth; she's here to help."

"Oh, alright," Sirius muttered. "My whole body aches, does that help?"

"I assumed as much," Mum sighed. "Voldemort used some kind of variation of the Cruciatus on you."

"Urgh, I've had enough of that spell," Sirius groaned.

"I know you have sweetie," Mum cooed, before her eyes hardened slightly. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't hand over your medical record to the Aurors and have your parents arrested for severe child abuse."

"You can't!" Sirius exclaimed. "They're politically powerful, and they're vindictive. They could hurt you!"

Mum sighed. "I figured you'd say that. Alright," she took out a clipboard. "Alright, so we know you're sane and you remember at least up until Christmas, right?"

"Yep," Sirius said.

"He remembers up to a couple of days ago," I explained. "His sanity is still up for debate."

"Shut it, Prongs," Sirius grumbled half-heartedly.

"Bad dog," I said.

"Really? That isn't going to work on me!" Sirius exclaimed indignantly, turning away, but I could see his shoulders slump, and he glanced at Mum. "I'm not bad, right?"

Mum chuckled. "No, Sirius, you aren't bad. Well, what were you boys talking about?"

"Sirius was moaning and groaning about his life and I was awkwardly trying to shut him up?" I suggested.

"Nah, I was giving an emotional speech about my childhood, and James was trying to be optimistic for once," Sirius counter, grinning.

Mum raised an eyebrow. "Well, then... James, why don't you go and tell your friends the good news while I care for Sirius?"

"No!" Sirius cried theatrically, sitting up quickly. "Don't leave me here alone, James! Save me! Bust me out! I'd do it for you!"

"I'll bust you out when you can stand on your own," I said.

"But I can!" he declared, trying to climb out of bed. Mum pushed him back in. "Hey! Aunt Carol!"

"You're staying put," she said sternly. "No escapades for you, mister, not until you're better."

"But I am better!" Sirius protested futilely.

"Sorry, Pads," I said. "But I better go."

Sirius pouted, and I just smiled at him and left the room, listening to his futile arguments of, "I'm fine" to my mother.

* * *

"There you are James!" Regulus exclaimed as soon as I entered the dorm. "How's Sirius?"

"Stubborn as ever," I declared. "He woke up while I was there; shame, he forgot your destruction of the Howler. But he remembers up until a little time after you became a lion."

"He's okay!" Regulus shouted gleefully, drawing the attention of Remus, who was reading a book on the other. "Sirius is okay! My big brother's okay! He remembers use! He's sane!"

"If he's anything like usual, that's up for debate," Remus said, closing his book. "So he's awake?"

"Yep," I beamed. "Mum said he wasn't supposed to be awake yet- I, er, snuck back there. Visitors aren't allowed."

"Oh," Regulus's face dropped slightly. "At least he's alright!"

"Yes, thank goodness," I said, dropping onto my bed. "I couldn't bear to lose him again... that scared me so bad... walking out there and seeing him on the ground like that- I thought- I thought he was..."

"Dead," Remus completed hollowly. "I know; it scared me too."

"I'm glad I wasn't there," Regulus shivered. "Seeing that scene in your pensieve was plenty, thank you very much."

"I agree," I sighed. "That day was possibly the worst day of my life. Of course, at this rate, that might change; it's like Sirius is _trying_ to get himself killed."

"You don't think," Remus said slowly. "He actually _is_ trying to get himself killed, do you?"

Regulus and I stared at him.

"No way!" I exclaimed.

Regulus shook his head adamantly. "No, Siri wouldn't do that."

"It was just an idea," Remus shrugged. "I'm sure he wouldn't. But he is pretty reckless when it comes to his own safety."

"Yeah, he explained that to me," I said softly. "He grew up with no one- except Reg, of course, and Andromeda- caring about him. I guess he doesn't think his life is worth as much."

"It isn't," Regulus declared. "It's worth more."

"I completely agree," I smiled. "But I guess that's to us."

"I wish we could help," Regulus muttered.

Remus smiled warmly at us. "But you are helping. You care about him. That has to help, right?"

"Yeah," I agreed. I leaned back in my bed, thinking deeply. "What if I can't save him?"

"You will," Regulus said. "Quit doubting yourself."

"It's like the universe is doing everything it can to stop me though," I sighed in frustration. "I mean he keeps coming this close to dying! I don't get it! He never got hurt this many times in my timeline! It's like my being here has ultimately made his life _worse_!"

"You haven't," Regulus said. "When did Sirius escape Grimmauld Place in your timeline?"

"Well, not until before fifth year-"

"And he hasn't died yet," Remus pointed out. "No matter how close he's come, he's still here."

"Well, yes, but-"

"And you've made a difference in other's lives," Regulus continued. "Mine for one; did I ever escape from my parents and become a Gryffindor?"

"Not until after Sirius died-"

"See, it's a good thing you came back," Remus smiled reassuringly. "Don't sell yourself short, mate."

"Alright, if it'll get you lot off my back," I grinned slightly. "Do you think Sirius is going to miss exams?"

"Is he going to be out by next week?" Remus asked. I shrugged. "Well, if he isn't, he'll be glad to know he'll be missing exams."

"Oh, don't tell him," I groaned. "He'll play it up- or worse, do something stupid and make himself worse!"

"I wouldn't put it past him to go ahead and do that on his own," Remus chuckled.

"Is James back- oh, hullo, James!" I smiled; Lily had just walked in. "How's Sirius?"

"Alive, sane," I beamed. "And he remembers us!"

"That's wonderful!" Lily exclaimed. "How long until he's out?"

"Knowing my mum, she'll try to keep him there for the rest of the year," I snickered. "And that will partially be Sirius's fault, too, if he tries another jailbreak."

"That's probably exactly what he'll do, too," Regulus added. "But I doubt he'll be able to without Jamie's help."

"Thank goodness," I said. "We certainly don't need a repeat of what happened last time. Besides, it's my mum. She can take good care at him, and she won't treat him like- how did he put it?- a medical miracle."

"At least there's that," Remus smiled. "I hate hospitals."

"Don't we all," I sighed. "At least Sirius will be okay. It seems like he's always in the hospital for some reason or another."

"That's just how Sirius is," Regulus sniggered. "Accident-prone. Trust me, I know."

"That's the understatement of the century," I said.

"No, the understatement of the century is Sirius's patented 'I'm fine'," Remus corrected.

"And James's," Lily added. "What is it with you two and fine?"

"It's a useful word," I shrugged. "Wish Sirius wouldn't use it so often; we'll never know if he's hurt or not."

We sat there in silence for a moment; my mind drifted. Sirius really did need to quit saying he was fine, especially when he wasn't. Which was pretty often. Then again, I tended to use that word too. Especially when I was upset, and when I put up my mask.

Suddenly, McGonagall burst into the room. I raised an eyebrow.

"Potter, I heard you went to St. Mungo's?" she asked. I nodded, somewhat guiltily. "Well. How was he?"

"Sirius?" I asked dumbly. "Oh. He woke up; he remembers us all, and he's sane too."

"Thank goodness," McGonagall sighed. "Do you think he'll be back anytime soon?"

"Knowing Mrs. Potter?" Lily laughed. "Not anytime soon."

**A/N: Hullo! Sirius is okay! See? I wouldn't take away what's left of his sanity. :P Poor Sirius, i haven't been very nice to him, have I? Big thanks to my reviewers, sk8boards4ever, jeremiah123, and Lady Loophole. I can't think of anything to 'give' you this time. :P Hope you all enjoyed!**

**I really will never own Harry Potter.**


	27. Chapter 27

It had been a couple of weeks since we'd rescued Remus; exams were finally over and everyone was looking forward to the end of the year feast, the house cup, and summer.

Except Sirius.

"It's not fair!" he whined. "She's not letting me go!"

"Well, maybe you aren't well enough to go," I reasoned. "Does anything still hurt?"

"No," Sirius said stubbornly. I raised an eyebrow and hit him over the head. "Ouch! Okay, maybe a bit. Thanks, Prongs, now my head is spinning."

"Sorry," I replied guiltily. "Didn't mean to hurt you- _but_ if you had told the truth, I wouldn't have hit you."

"Yeah, yeah, I've had worse," Sirius declared.

"I hate it when you say that," I muttered bitterly. "Because I know just how true that is."

"Well, I've obviously had even worse in your timeline," Sirius shrugged. "After all, I died, didn't I?"

I sighed irritably. "You did. Really, would you quit mentioning that?"

"Sorry, mate," Sirius frowned. "Anyways, I'm kinda surprised old Voldie didn't kill me. I mean, how easy would it be? It's just two words."

"Thank goodness he didn't," I said, shuddering to think how close I'd come to losing Sirius _again_. He was right; it was just too easy for him to get killed. "He probably wanted to cause you pain."

"Speaking of that," said Sirius, looking slightly disconcerted. "I think I have a theory as to why your mum is keeping me here so long."

"I hope it's a good one," I chuckled. "Maybe then you'll quit complaining. Well, out with it, then."

"I- well, it isn't important," Sirius said awkwardly. I shrugged my shoulders. "So, do you think Dumbledore will make me take the exams once I get out of here?"

"Without a doubt," I replied. Sirius's face fell. "Don't worry; they weren't all that hard."

"Says the boy who's from the future," Sirius snorted. "You've taken them before."

"They weren't all that hard the first time," I retorted. "Though I don't know about you, considering how much class you've missed this year."

"Well, that is hardly my fault," Sirius declared indignantly. I gave him a dubious look. "Mostly not my fault. Kind of."

"More like mostly your fault," I corrected. "Considering, oh, let's see, every one of the ideas thst got you hurt were _your_ ideas."

"Okay, fine," Sirius admitted. "So it is mostly my fault."

I grinned, satisfied. "So, Padfoot, do you reckon Mum will let you play Quidditch this summer?"

"Here's hoping," said Sirius. "I'd hate to go all summer without getting out on that pitch you have. Say, who all would we play with, anyways?"

"You and I are chasers, Reg is a Seeker, Frank Longbottom lives nearby, he's a keeper," I listed. "Oh, and Dad's a beater and Mum is a decent chaser. So, yeah, I reckon we can play a decent game."

"Minus the opponents," Sirius added. I chuckled.

"Right," I agreed. "We could have something like that snowball fight; you just won't fall off your broom and scare me half to death."

"You weren't that scared!" Sirius laughed. I gave him a sombre look. "You- you weren't, were you?"

"I was pretty scared," I admitted. "I was even worse when we saved Remus. I walked out there and you were just laying on the ground, bleeding, looking just like you had that- that day."

"Oh," said Sirius. "Sorry, Prongs."

"It's fine, Padfoot," I chuckled lightly. "Lily claims it's good to talk about your feelings."

"She's a _girl_," Sirius pointed out. I rolled my eyes at his childish remark. "Still, I'd rather it be me than you."

I sighed bitterly. "I know you would. That's what got you killed, remember?"

Sirius blushed. "Oh. Yeah, that's right."

"I'm going to ask you something I think I've asked you before," I declared. Sirius gave me a puzzled look. "If I'm ever in danger, and you have a chance to escape, do it, will you?"

"No, I won't," Sirius said, frowning. "I've told you, James, if I can help, I will."

I groaned, leaning back in my chair. "Padfoot, if you die-"

"Oh well," Sirius shrugged, and I flinched. No thirteen year old should react like that to the thought of their own death. "I saw that Prongs."

"Why don't you seem to care?"

"My life isn't as important as yours," Sirius said, and I whacked him in the head. "Ow! What the heck, Prongs!?

"Never say that again," I hissed. "Your life is just as important, if not more, you git!"

Sirius didn't look very convinced. "Alright, Prongs, whatever you say. Still, you didn't have to hit me. Now I've got a headache."

"Go figure," I said sarcastically, my good mood thoroughly dampened. "Why do we keep going back to the same subject?"

"You mean my death?" Sirius asked tactlessly. I rubbed my head, and nodded, exasperated. "Maybe because it's an interesting subject. I'd actually like to know a bit more; I mean, I saw the memory, but I don't know how everyone else reacted and my funeral- wouldn't that be wicked, to attend your own funeral?"

"It would not be wicked," I said hotly. "And it isn't an interesting subject. If you really want to know, by all means, go digging in my Pensieve again. You'll see just how _interesting_ it is."

Sirius's face lit up. "Great, I'll do just that!"

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. "Me and my big mouth."

"I love that about you," said Sirius cheekily. "I can always find out exactly what I-"

Sirius cut himself off quite abruptly, clutching his chest, where a large, deep gash had unexpectedly appeared. I let out a shocked cry, as Sirius's face screwed up in pain. "I knew it; I'd read about delayed curses- I should have known."

I cursed under my breath. "I'm gonna go get Mum. This is bad."

"It'll probably be fine," Sirius said nonchalantly, though his face said otherwise. "Just a little cut-"

Suddenly, Sirius started screaming and convulsing, as if under the Cruciatus. Caught off guard, I let out a startled and horrified shout, freezing. Eyes wide, I watched as Sirius thrashed in the hospital bed, a trickle of blood slowly leaking out of his mouth. The bleeding on his chest was getting much worse.

"I'm really gonna go get Mum," I said shakily, running out of the room to my mother's office as fast as I could, bumping into a few people in the halls. She was sitting at her desk, and when she saw me run in, her expression turned fearful. "Mum- it's Sirius- he's screaming, and there's blood, and-"

I needn't have continued. Mum was already halfway down the hall. I followed her anxiously to Sirius room, a few Healers joining us. When we reached it, Sirius was no longer thrashing, instead paler than ever and very still. My heart clenched with fear at the sight of him; he looked dead. Mum and the Healers immediately got to work, muttering between themselves.

"James, I want you to leave," Mum said.

"Is he-"

"Sirius will be okay," Mum declared reassuringly, even as one Healer gave her a dubious look. She shot him an angry glare, before smiling kindly at me. "Go, Jamie."

I nodded tightly, leaving in a blur to the Gryffindor common room, a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. Though Mum had said he'd be okay, but that one Healer had looked as if he doubted it. I desperately hoped Sirius would be alright; I couldn't bear to lose him again.

"James?" Regulus asked as soon as I stumbled out of the fireplace. "James, what's wrong?"

"Bloody Voldemort," I muttered darkly. "I hate him."

"What happened?" Lily asked worriedly.

"He put some sort of delayed curse on Sirius," I explained. Regulus's eyes widened, horror settling in them. "I don't know what happened, there was suddenly this huge gash on his chest and then he started screaming and thrashing- Mum said he'd be okay, but the other Healers looked really doubtful. I thought he was safe!"

"So did I," Regulus moaned, putting his head in his hands. "My poor brother..."

"What did Sirius do this time?" Remus asked, walking in with Peter. "Hey, why does everyone look so down...?" a sudden sort of comprehension dawned on his face. "Oh. Something happened to Sirius. He isn't dead, is he?"

"No," I said glumly. "Not yet anyways. I was talking with him and he just started screaming. Some sort of delayed curse."

"Oh," Remus frowned.

Peter squeaked. "He'll be okay, right?"

"I don't know," I said heavily.

"Why Sirius?" Regulus lamented. "Why my brother? Poor Sirius, he never gets a break!"

"The universe really hates me," I groaned. "Or maybe it hates Sirius. I just hope he'll be okay."

* * *

It was several hours after what happened. Regulus and I were sitting in the lobby of St. Mungo's, waiting for news on Sirius. Both of us were beyond worried.

"You don't think he's died, do you?" Regulus asked anxiously.

I shook my head. "No, they'd've told us."

"What if Aunt Carol doesn't want us to know he's died?" Regulus asked, wringing his hands nervously and rocking back and forth. "What if he's dying right now? What if they can't save him?"

"Regulus, _stop_," I ordered, grabbing Regulus's shoulders. "Calm down. Panicking won't do anything."

"I don't want Siri to die," Regulus whimpered.

I sighed, and pulled him into a hug. "I know, Reggie; I don't want him to die either. But he isn't going to. This is Sirius we're talking about-"

"Yeah, well, he died in your timeline, didn't he?" Regulus cried. "I saw it! I used to think he was invincible, but now I know he's not, and that really scares me because what if he _does_ die!?"

I closed my eyes, trying to block the tears from falling. Of course Regulus was right; I _knew_ Sirius wasn't invincible. I didn't want to believe it, and I never did until he died in my arms. The permanence of his death didn't settle in until his funeral, when I saw him, pale and still, in his casket, and when they lowered him into the ground. I'd thought I'd never see him again, but then we'd come back here, and I had the chance to save him.

Had I _failed_?

It certainly seemed so, as Regulus sobbed into my shirt in the lobby of the hospital. Maybe I was just overreacting; maybe the only reason we didn't have news was because Sirius was asleep, save and sound and the Healers were just checking over him one final time.

"James? Regulus?" Both of us shot out of our seats. Mum had entered the room, a strange expression on her face that I couldn't quite read. I could tell it wasn't good, and I immediately feared the worst. Regulus noticed too, and let out a tiny sob.

"He's okay, right?" I asked urgently. Mum didn't respond. "_Right_?"

"We've done everything we could," said Mum, and my heart sank. "Voldemort put some delayed curses on him, and we fear the worst is yet to come. We healed what we could, but there might be more coming."

"He's alive, though," Regulus pressed, eyes wide and fearful. "He'll be okay?"

Mum pulled us both into a tight hug. "I don't know, boys."

"But you're a Healer!" I exclaimed.

"I am a Healer, and I know very well that some things just can't be healed," Mum whispered. "We'll try our best; I promise you, I won't give up on Sirius. Right now we think he's safe, but-"

Just then, another Healer rushed in the room. "Healer Potter, you're needed. Another delayed curse."

Mum nodded, and gave Regulus and me a sad look. "I promise I'll try my best, boys."

I nodded, blinking back tears fruitlessly, tears already streaming down my face. Regulus hugged me and started sobbing into my shirt as Mum left the room. I stared after her, a horrible feeling of hopelessness settling in my brain. "Hold on, Sirius."

**A/N: Before you ask, I really **_**don't**_** know what's wrong with me! I have the horrible feeling you lot are going to track me down and brutally and slowly murder me for this chapter. So, I'm giving you the choice (even though I'm pretty sure I know your choice): does Sirius live or die? Tell me in your reviews! Big thanks to jeremiah123, Theta-McBride, and sk8boards4ever for reviewing! Hope you enjoyed, please don't kill me!**

**I really don't own Harry Potter.**


	28. Chapter 28

_Regulus and I were at St. Mungo's again, waiting impatiently for news on Sirius. I hated waiting; it made me more and more anxious. Just then, Mum walked in, eyes red-rimmed and face grim. My heart sank._

"_I'm sorry, boys," she murmured. "We tried our best."_

"_A-aunt Carol?" Regulus whimpered._

"_You can go see him," Mum whispered. "Say goodbye. He's dying."_

"_No!" I cried, and Regulus started sobbing. Mum led us back to Sirius's room; he was awake, but very, very pale. His breathing was shallow and laboured, and he looked to be in pain. He smiled at us._

"_Hey, guys," he said hoarsely._

"_Oh, Siri!" Regulus sobbed, launching himself on his brother. Sirius patted his back awkwardly. "This can't be happening!"_

"_I'm sorry, Reggie," Sirius replied. I walked over, dimly aware of tears streaming down my own face, and grabbed Sirius's hand. Regulus grabbed his other hand. "Listen, you guys, it's going to be okay."_

"_No," I whispered. "It won't. Sirius, please, you can't die!"_

"_James," Sirius said. "I can. Promise me, though, you'll live your own life. Both of you."_

"_I will," Regulus sniffled, pale and shaking._

_I nodded sadly. "Of course, Padfoot."_

"_Good," Sirius smiled weakly. "You guys are the best. I'm sorry."_

_With that, Sirius's eyes fluttered close, and his hand fell limp in mine. I checked, futilely hopeful, for a pulse. There was none. I let out a choked sob, as Regulus gave an agonized howl. _

"_Sirius, wake up, Sirius!" he screamed. "Sirius!"_

_I couldn't speak; I was paralyzed. I'd failed him. I'd failed Sirius. He was dead._

"JAMES!" I shot straight up. Regulus was hovering over me, his face anxious. "Thank goodness. You were crying in your sleep."

"It was a nightmare," I sighed in relief.

Regulus snorted. "I hadn't realized."

"Sorry," I said. "I dreamed... I dreamed Sirius died."

"Oh," replied Regulus, shifting uncertainly. "Well, it was just a nightmare."

"Yeah," I murmured. "Like that's new."

"We go home tomorrow," Regulus said. I nodded, glad he was changing the subject. "Or today, I suppose, since it's around two in the morning."

"Did I wake you?" I asked. Regulus shrugged. "Sorry, Reg."

"Nah, it's not your fault," Regulus smiled reassuringly. "Sirius used to wake me up in the middle of the night all the time when we were kids; it could be quite annoying, especially when he soaked me."

I laughed. "Yes, that sounds like him."

"We're both going to be living at your place now," Regulus pointed out. "You're going to have to deal with him too."

"I'll just push him down the stairs," I declared. "If I need to, that is. Those stairs are bloody evil."

"So you've told me," Regulus chuckled. There was an awkward silence, broken by Peter's snores. "You don't think... you don't think your nightmare could come true?"

"No," I shook my head. I couldn't fathom Sirius dying again; at least, not at this point. That might just be me in denial, though. "I mean, he can't just die... fate isn't that cruel."

"What about when-" Regulus took a shaky breath, eyes very upset. "What about when it comes to the time he actually d-died in your timeline."

I sucked in a sharp breath; as much as the thought scared me, I knew it was possible. Sirius had said himself- we might not be able to save him. It was a horrible thought, and I wasn't sure I could handle it happening again.

"I don't know," I said honestly. Regulus sighed as if he'd expected this answer; his obsidian eyes were sad. "Listen, Reg. I'm not going to let your brother die if I can help it. I'd die to protect him-"

"I don't want you to die either," Regulus whispered. "Don't forget; you're my brother, too. Besides, that could cause of problem- Sirius would die for you and you'd die for him. What happens if you _both_ die?"

"I'll keep all of us alive, then," I said.

Regulus smiled hopefully. "That'd be good. Even if it is impossible."

"It isn't," I said stubbornly. "No one is going to die if I can help it."

"Oh, dear... is Potter being a noble git again?" said a drawling, amused voice. Regulus and I turned. Standing in the dorm room in the middle of the night were none other than Snape and Remus- fifteen (or would it be sixteen by now?) year old Snape and Remus.

"It's about time you visited again," I said, feigning annoyance. "Where's Regulus?"

"Right there," Remus said, inclining his head towards Regulus, who was staring with his mouth open. "Gaping at us stupidly."

"Uh... hi?" Regulus greeted unsurely. "Am I seeing things?"

"No," I answered. "These two are visiting from the future."

"Wicked!" Regulus beamed. "That's amazing! Do they visit often!"

"No," said Remus. "Apparently we can only visit a couple of times a year. So, how is everyone?"

"Most of us are good," I replied uneasily. "I'd like to strangle Voldemort and murder him slowly and brutally, but we're all mostly fine."

"Mostly," Snape repeated, giving me a look. "Well, then. Who's dying?"

"No one's dying," Regulus said fervently. "No one is going to die!"

"Alright," said Snape, raising an eyebrow. "Who's hurt?"

I sighed heavily. "Sirius is in St. Mungo's... _still_. He has been for a while now."

"What happened?" asked Remus, looking worried.

"Well, long story short: you, Remus, were kidnapped. Sirius ran off to rescue you, Severus and I saved his skin, but he was still hurt; now, of course, he was getting better... but there were some delayed curses, so he's not doing so great..."

Snape snorted dryly. "Figures; Potter came back to save Black, and Black can't help but make Potter's life miserable by being an idiot."

"It isn't Sirius's fault," I defended. "He's just a noble git by nature."

"Unfortunately," Remus nodded. "Gee, Regulus, I forgot how tiny you used to be."

Regulus puffed up indignantly. "I'm not tiny!"

"You kind of are," I snickered, ruffling his hair. "Not as scrawny as your brother, though."

"I can hardly remember how 'scrawny' Black was," Snape declared. "It's been a over a year now, anyways."

My eyes widened; he was right- it had been over a year. "I hadn't realized; I've grown used to having him around."

"You're lucky," Remus sighed. "We've all grown used to not having him around- or you and Lily, for that matter. The story Dumbledore fed to the rest of the Wizarding world was that you guys died too."

"Oh, wow," I blinked. "Weird; so me and Lils have been declared dead?"

"It must suck there," Regulus mumbled. "No Siri, no Jamie."

"He's grown attached," Snape noted.

Regulus grabbed my arm protectively. "We're brothers too, now. Me and Siri and Jamie."

Snape chuckled, raising his hands in a surrender gesture. "Okay, okay, I was just saying. No need to get defensive. Anyways, Hogwarts held a memorial for the three of you that day; you'd be surprised at the turn-out."

"Nice to know people care," I said softly. "I bet Lily would like to know- did Petunia show her face?"

"Nope," said Remus. "She was even given a special invitation. Your parents did, though, and even some of Sirius's family- Regulus, Andromeda, Narcissa, and even his grandfather."

"Grandfather came?" Regulus asked. "Gee, I never really thought he likes us."

"He was polite; you talked to him a bit," Remus replied. His form flickered. "Oh. Guess we gotta go now."

"Shame; I wanted to talk to Lily," Snape sighed theatrically. "Well, good luck, Potter."

At that moment, they disappeared. Regulus stared in awe. "Bloody heck."

I gave him a light whack in the back of the head. "I don't know if I've told you, but don't repeat anything Sirius says."

"Got it," Regulus blushed.

I smiled fondly. "Get back to bed. It's too early."

Regulus nodded, and scampered away, leaving me to my thoughts.

* * *

I didn't quite remember how I got on the train, which could mean one of two things: either someone spiked my pumpkin juice with firewhiskey, or I was lost in thought and worried about Sirius. I figured it was probably the latter, because the only person I could see spiking my drink was Sirius, and he was in St. Mungo's.

The train ride was rather quiet without Sirius, and the fact that he was injured was hanging over us like a dark cloud. Regulus was seated next to me, leaning on me and fast asleep. I didn't blame him; I'd woken him up in the middle of the night.

"Have you heard anything?" asked Lily after a while. I shook my head, cautious not to wake Regulus. "Things have gone horribly wrong."

"Not too horribly," Snape shrugged. "I'd've never become friends with James if you two hadn't of travelled through time. Regulus might still be an obvious Gryffindor in Slytherin."

"Was I that obvious?" Regulus flushed red.

"Yes," Snape said. "You were."

"Don't worry," I whispered loudly. "Obviousness is a key trait of us Gryffindors; along with rashness and insanely stupid bravery, that is."

"Which is why Sirius is the model Gryffindor," Remus sniggered.

Peter chuckled. "I think I'd be happier if one of the key traits was self-preservation."

"That's us," Snape pointed out. Peter's eyes widened, and he shuddered. "Oh, don't look like it's such a horrible thing. I'll have you know that not all of us are evil."

"Well, you're the only one," Peter replied. "Anyways, how long until we can see Padfoot?"

"I won't know 'till I see Mum," I admitted. "I'm completely in the dark; it's killing me."

"Slowly," added Snape. "Painfully."

Lily sent him a annoyed look.

"Just trying to lighten the atmosphere," he said, shifting awkwardly.

"Odd way of lightening the atmosphere," Remus replied, trying and failing to keep a nonchalant look. "Not exactly how I'd have gone about it."

"I bet it's a Slytherin thing," Peter declared. "I bet they're very morbid."

I chuckled slightly. "Yeah, we really need Sirius back."

The rest of the train ride passed in a blur. Snape tried several more times to make us laugh, but he couldn't seem to crack a decent joke to save his life and all we really ended up laughing at were his futile attempts.

* * *

Dad picked us up at the station; I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. All it really meant was that Mum couldn't pick us up, which pretty much meant that she was busy at St. Mungo's. This implied that Sirius was still alive- but still hurt. I didn't really know what to make of the situation.

As soon as we reached the house, I demanded to go see Sirius.

"Well, James, you must understand, Sirius can't have visitors right now," Dad said. Regulus's eyes flashed, and I recognized in an instant the same temper in his eyes as Sirius's.

"But," I cut in, trying to prevent a temper tantrum (although Sirius fervently denied that he had temper tantrums, and I was sure Regulus would too). "We could sneak in under the cloak."

"You might not like what you see," Dad argued.

"Well, we won't know, will we?" Regulus snapped. "Until we go see him."

"And," I intervened. "It will probably ease our minds. And if Sirius is awake or wakes up, we can be a comfort to him."

Dad hesitated. "No. You can't go."

Regulus's temper flared again.

"I WANT TO SEE MY BROTHER!" he screamed. "I WANT SIRI! BRING ME TO MY BROTHER!"

I winced; yep, there it was.

"Reg, calm down," I said.

"NO!" he yelled. "I WANT MY BROTHER! I WANT SIRI!"

I groaned. "Great going, Dad. Now he won't shut up until you bring him to Sirius."

"Now, James, I know plenty about handling kids throwing fits," Dad replied. "I know better than to give in-"

A plate flew across the room and slammed into the wall; Regulus continued screaming, and more things went flying. I gave Dad a wry grin.

"Alright, have your way," I said. "I'll let you handle him."

I made to leave the room, but Regulus launched himself onto me, sobbing. "NO! Don't leave me too! I want both my brothers! I want Siri! Don't you leave too!"

I groaned; this was going to be a long, _long_ night.

**A/N: Amazing; no Sirius in this chapter- except the nightmare. Ah, yes, I figured Sirius and Regulus would both have tempers, so... Regulus's temper shows its face! And poor Snape is no good at lightening the atmosphere. Huge thanks to my reviewers, jeremiah123, Accalia Silvermoon, N. E. Person, sk8boards4ever, icecatfire, Lady Loophole, Theta-McBride, Ranma's girl1, and Jily4ever! Over 150 reviews! Woohoo! You all get more Siri plushies (you probably have plenty by now :P) and chocolate (this is all virtual, of course)! Hope you enjoyed.**

**I do not own Harry Potter.**


	29. Chapter 29

Regulus was still sleeping when I woke up; I didn't blame him. He'd literally screamed himself to sleep the night before. _Literally_. He'd screamed and sobbed and destroyed most of the living room until he finally became too tired and fell asleep on the only couch still standing. I'd carried him to his room, before going back to my own.

On the upside, I didn't have any nightmares.

"Morning, Dad," I said, walking into the kitchen. Dad smiled wearily at me; the living room was back intact, thankfully, and Mum was sitting across from Dad. "Hullo, Mum. How's Sirius?"

"He's doing a lot better," Mum beamed. Relief coursed through me, and I grinned widely. "Where's Regulus? I heard he was a bit upset last night."

"A bit?" I snorted. "He destroyed the living room."

"So I saw," Mum chuckled.

"He's still out," I said, jerking my head towards the stairs. "Obviously, since he probably tired himself out last night."

"Well, hopefully he'll be in a better mood today," Mum sighed. "Of course, you still can't visit Sirius-"

"Why not!?" I exclaimed. "We could sneak in!"

"He's still in bad shape, Jamie," Mum said softly. "He's unconscious, too, so it's useless going to see him."

I scowled. "You said he was doing better."

"He is," Mum assured me. "And he'll be fine, James. But he's not perfectly healed yet."

Suddenly, there were several loud thuds, and moments later a disgruntled Regulus walked into the room, trying to straighten his hair.

"You're right," he grumbled. "Those stairs _are_ evil."

Mum and Dad exchanged looks; Regulus caught them.

"Well," he said expectantly. "How's Sirius?"

Mum and Dad didn't respond. Regulus's expression immediately turned nervous. "He's okay, right?"

"He's getting better," I put in, understanding why Mum and Dad didn't want to tell Regulus but wanting the exact same thing he did. "But Mum says we can't visit him.

Regulus scowled, then sat beside me.

"At least," he muttered under his breath so my parents couldn't hear. "We can sneak out later."

"Agreed," I nodded. "I miss Sirius; it seems like he's always in the hospital."

"I know, sweetie," Mum sighed. "That poor child; he's been through things no one should ever have to handle."

"He has," I said heavily. "It really isn't fair."

"He's strong, though," Regulus piped in. "A lot stronger than me, of course. He always protected me back... back at Grimmauld Place."

"He's too protective," I grimaced.

"Well, boys, we were going to go on a family outing today," Dad declared. Regulus and I opened our mouths to protest. "But seeing as Sirius is in the hospital, we'll put that off until he's better."

Both of us sagged in relief.

"In the meantime," continued Dad. "You both have homework you could do."

Regulus and I exchanged looks.

"Well," said Mum. "Go on- go do your homework."

I grinned deviously. "We'll do-"

"Just that," Regulus completed, and equally evil smirk on his face.

* * *

Confession time: we didn't touch our homework. We went straight to St. Mungo's after grabbing my invisibility cloak. Sirius's room was quiet as ever, the silence only broken by our footsteps and Sirius's ragged but continual breathing. We both pulled up a seat beside his bed.

"He looks dead," Regulus muttered, shifting uneasily. "James, are you sure-"

"I'm sure he isn't dead," I assured him. "Really, Reg, he's _breathing_."

"I know," Regulus mumbled. "But he's so pale and still and-"

"Alright, alright, quit making him sound dead," I interrupted. "He isn't. He's breathing, so he's not still. He was a lot paler than that when he- when he died, anyways. Not to mention, you can see his hands and feet twitching every so often; he's pretty much just asleep."

"Oh," Regulus sighed. "Alright, that's good. Do you think he'd wake up if I yelled in his ears?"

I chuckled bemusedly. "Worth a shot, I suppose."

Regulus beamed, and took a deep breath. "WAKE UP, SIRI, YOU'RE GONNA MISS BREAKFAST!"

I must have been right about him simply being asleep, because Sirius shot straight up, eyes wide. "BREAKFAST!"

Then he groaned, grabbed his chest, and leaned back into his pillow.

"Good morning," I said pleasantly. Sirius smiled at me, before giving Regulus an irritated look.

"I'm not missing breakfast," he said irately. "You didn't have to startle me."

"It woke you up," Regulus grinned cheekily. "And Aunt Carol told us it'd be no use going to see you. You look perfectly fine to me."

"Tell that to the bloody cut I probably just reopened," Sirius grumbled, but his eyes were twinkling mischievously. "How long have I been out?"

"A few days, more or less," I shrugged. "School is out; we went home yesterday and Regulus threw a fit."

"I did not throw a fit," Regulus muttered, crossing his arms.

I raised an eyebrow. "You screamed and sobbed and destroyed the entire living room."

Regulus blushed bright red as Sirius let out a barking laugh. "Brilliant! Did he really wreck the entire living room?"

"He did," I confirmed.

"Oh, shut it, you two," Regulus said, still red.

"So how was the train ride?" Sirius prompted, leaning forward and wincing slightly, an expression imperceptible to anyone but me (seeing as I was super overprotective).

"You should have heard Severus trying to crack a joke," I laughed loudly. "Some of them were so simply morbid and pathetic that we ended up laughing anyways."

"Yeah, being in the dark was killing James slowly and painfully," Regulus added, and both of us dissolved into giggles. Er... chuckles. Sirius stared at us, completely confused.

"I don't get it."

"One of Sev's jokes," Regulus said, controlling his laughter. "Eventually Lily just told him to stop while he was ahead."

"If I recall correctly, Remus told him to lie down before he hurt himself," I smirked. Sirius let out another bark-like laugh. "And I ended up saying they weren't that bad-"

"And I said they were _horrible_," Regulus completed, eyes sparkling. "Poor Sev."

"Oh, that's great!" Sirius beamed. "Wish I had seen it; I daresay I was unconscious or something at the time, though."

"Weren't you?" I said, turning to Regulus.

Regulus donned a wicked smirk. "I woke up shortly before that, but your shoulder was _so_ comfortable."

I hit him on the arm. "Shut it, you."

"I can't believe I missed that," Sirius sighed dramatically. "Well, here's the plan-"

"The plan?" I repeated dubiously.

"Am I missing something?" Regulus asked.

Sirius beamed. "Nope; we're going to break me out of here! Then, of course, I'd have to lock myself in my room so your parent's can't take me back. But at least I'll be out!"

I saw several flaws in this idea. "What if you aren't out of the woods? If you're _here_ and you get worse, at least you can quickly get help. The few minutes it could take to get from my house to here could cost you your life."

"Sure, sure, whatever," It was all too obvious Sirius wasn't listening. "So, okay, you two have got to dress up like Healers, and then you can smuggle me out of here!"

"There's a lot of ways that can go wrong," Regulus pointed out. "Can you even get out of bed?"

Sirius scoffed. "Of course I can!"

To prove his point, he climbed out of bed, walked two steps, tripped over his robes, and fell flat on his face. "Ow."

In a moment, three Healers- including Mum- were in the room. I quickly whipped the cloak over Regulus and I as they surrounded Sirius.

"You're awake!" Mum noted. "And, honestly, you tried to escape, did you? It's a hospital, not Azkaban. Merlin, child."

"I'm fine," Sirius insisted, pulling himself to his feet and limping reluctantly to his bed. "Really, you can all go, I'm fine. Don't worry, no injuries-"

The Healers were muttering amongst themselves, casting diagnostic spells.

"-another broken rib, really-"

"-if he keeps hurting himself, he'll never get out-"

"-he's opened that cut again-"

Regulus and I exchanged looks. So much for busting him out.

Sirius scowled, and crossed his arms. "I'm fine, really. Look, I'm not bleeding."

He pulled his arms away, and glanced at them as if to make sure he _wasn't_ bleeding again, and ended up cursing under his breath. I joined him, noting the red substance soaking through his hospital robes; Regulus whimpered.

"I'm not bleeding all that bad," Sirius corrected. Mum gave him a sceptical look. "Look, really. I've had worse."

Mum sighed. "Well, let's get you fixed up. Hopefully you won't try to escape again."

She gave him a stern look, as if daring him to try.

"Look, why do I have to stay here?" Sirius asked. "Why can't I stay at home?"

It was the first time I'd heard Sirius refer to my house as home. I smiled despite myself.

"Didn't you just explain that to him?" Regulus whispered. Mum's head whipped around fast as lightning, and she raised her wand. I groaned audibly.

"_Accio Cloak_," Mum said, and the cloak flew off Regulus and I. We stood there awkwardly. "You two! I thought you were doing homework!"

"Er..." said Regulus. "We just wanted to see Sirius! He woke up, didn't he?"

"Only cause you yelled in my ears," Sirius grumbled; nonetheless, he was grinning. "Anyways, I'm glad they came. For the record, James was against my escape attempt."

"Darn right I was," I muttered. Mum gave me a sharp glare. "Okay, so we broke the rules. Big deal; we do that all the time. Sirius would have still tried to leave if we weren't here."'

"He'd probably still be asleep," Mum pointed out, eyes flashing angrily.

One of the Healers shifted awkwardly. "Er... are we going to bandage him up or just let him bleed...?"

"You git, of course we're going to bandage him up," hissed the Healer beside him.

Mum sighed. "Alright. You can stay, but do exactly as I say. Don't get in the way."

"Get in the way," Sirius said. "Break me out."

Mum groaned.

* * *

I for one thought Regulus and I were a big help. We handed the Healers everything they needed (including, to Sirius's chagrin, potions). Nevertheless, Mum was still angry when we got back home.

I probably should have expected that.

Our result for trying to see our friend? We were both grounded, and Sirius was still stuck at St. Mungo's.

"Well, this is just great," Regulus sighed. "At least it isn't my parents. They'd have probably cursed us."

"Yeah, Mum and Dad don't do that," I said. "Did you see the cuts on Sirius? How many curses did Voldemort get him with?"

"I'm just worried they aren't all over," Regulus shuddered. "That's why they're keeping him in St. Mungo's, I'll bet."

"Probably," I agreed uneasily. "But he'll be okay, I'm sure."

Regulus's eyes were troubled. "What if V-voldemort put a delayed Killing Curse on him?"

I flinched. "I'm sure he didn't. Maybe he can't. Why would he? I mean, if he wanted to kill Sirius, he'd of done so that night, right?"

"I dunno," said Regulus. "It worries me."

"Me too," I gave Regulus a reassuring smile. "Tell you what? Do you want to ask Mum for peace of mind? She ought to know."

"Yeah," Regulus replied. "Later; I think she's still angry."

I snorted. "Probably."

There was an awkward silence.

"Why is it always Sirius?" Regulus asked sadly.

I shook my head sadly. "I don't know; he's already had a pretty bad life. Sometimes I feel like the universe is trying to get back at _me_ for messing with time. Bad things happen to people who mess with time."

"Nothing bad will happen," Regulus said, giving me a hug. "You've helped a lot. Sirius will be just fine."

"Shouldn't I, as the older brother, be the one comforting _you_?" I asked bemusedly. Regulus laughed. "At any rate, it's past your bedtime."

Regulus looked horrified. "I have a _bedtime_?"

I smiled deviously, and nodded. Regulus's eyes widened, and he scampered out of the room, muttering something about not even being in pyjamas yet.

**A/N: I feel like this ended abruptly. Oh well... at least it isn't a cliffhanger, right? Big thanks to Theta-McBride, sk8boards4ever, jeremiah123, Lady Loophole, N. E. Person, and Accalia Silvermoon for reviewing! I got a suggestion to give you wands but I'm not quite sure how that would turn out for me so... fake, light-up wands! :D Close enough, right? Hope you enjoyed!**

**I don't own Harry Potter! Siriusly! (You see what I did there? XD)**


	30. Chapter 30

"Aunt Carol, when's my bedtime?"

It had been a couple of days since we'd last seen Sirius; apparently, this question had bugging Regulus since Id told him he had a bedtime.

"What?" Mum asked, looking flabbergasted. "Bedtime?"

"Yeah, James told me I had a bedtime," said Regulus innocently. Mum gave me a stern glare. "So when is it?"

"Well, the general rule is no later than ten," Mum said. "But we've never imposed a specific bedtime. I'm not sure why James suggested that, other than to get you to leave."

Regulus looked slightly hurt.

"No," I said. "I was tired, and he looked tired, but, you know, kids are stubborn."

"You're a kid as well," Dad said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, for further reference, Regulus, believe nothing James tells you unless we've confirmed it."

"Yeah, Sirius does stuff like that too," Regulus admitted. "So... when do we see him? Sirius, I mean."

Mum groaned and put her hands up in surrender; Regulus and I had been pestering her for days. "I give up!"

Regulus and I exchanged hopeful glances. "Does that mean we can see him?"

"Urgh, just go!" Mum said. Regulus and I grinned. "Don't bother him, don't help him escape, call for help if anything happens, don't touch _anything_-"

"Okay, thanks, Mum!" I interrupted, already halfway to the Floo. "We'll be careful! Don't worry!"

Mum groaned again, dropping her head onto the table. "I give up..."

I grinned, and hopped through the Floo, tumbling out the other side. Regulus walked out after me, much more gracefully. He laughed when he saw me sprawled on the ground and covered in ash.

"Nice," he said.

"Oh shut it," I replied.

We made our way to Sirius's room (I knew the way by heart by now) to find Sirius creeping towards the door. He caught sight of the door opening, and scrambled to get back to his bed. He ended up falling flat on his face, before turning to look at us, smiling sheepishly.

"Oh, it's just you," he sighed. "Help bust me out?

"Actually, one of our specific rules for visiting is not to help you escape," said Regulus. Sirius pouted. "But we're here, so... how are you, Siri?"

"Ready to get out," said Sirius as we helped him back into his bed. "I'd escape as Padfoot, but it'd be bad if they caught me."

"It would," I agreed. "You might be facing time in Azkaban."

Sirius paled. "Really?"

"Nah, not at this age," I laughed. "They wouldn't stick a kid in Azkaban."

"Oh," Sirius sighed. "Good; I was worried."

"So... is it boring here?" asked Regulus. Sirius gave him an incredulous look.

"Of course it is," he said, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. "I have nothing to do. I want out. It's a prison, I tell you!"

"It's a hospital," I chuckled fondly. "Not a prison."

Sirius crossed his arms, pouting indignantly. "It's _evil_."

"It's good for you," Regulus said, poking Sirius in the ribs. Sirius scowled. "Well, would you rather be dead?"

Sirius opened his mouth to answer.

"Don't answer that," I said.

Sirius quickly closed his mouth.

"So..." said Regulus awkwardly. "What do you guys want to do?"

"Leave," Sirius replied immediately. "Escape. Get away. Please, please, get me out."

Regulus and I groaned.

"Sirius," I said slowly. "No escape. _Bad dog_."

Sirius pouted. "I'm not bad."

"Sirius, stay," Regulus ordered. "Then you'll be a good dog, and we'll bring you treats!"

"Treats?" asked Sirius, perking up immediately. "Ooh, peanut butter treats?"

"Even better," I said. "Chocolate treats."

"Chocolate!" Sirius beamed. "Okay; I'll stay."

"Good boy," Regulus smiled, patting Sirius on the head. He turned to me and lowered his voice. "James, where are we going to find chocolate dog treats?"

I frowned. "I have no idea."

* * *

"Flour, two cups," Regulus said, and Blinky the house-elf handed him a bag of flour. "Why do we need flour in chocolate dog treats anyways? Two cups..."

He shrugged, and dumped half the bag into the bowl. I chuckled as I watched him; we'd both decided the best way to go about getting the ;dog treats' for Sirius was to bake them- Regulus had taken initiative immediately. He was quite a sight: he was wearing a light blue apron, and the flour had exploded in his face, leaving it quite white. He blinked comically, and shook his head fruitlessly, his black hair and pale face still covered in white.

"Oh well... vanilla..." he noted. "Blinky, get some vanilla ice cream."

Blinky disappeared and returned quickly with a tub of vanilla ice cream. Regulus got a scoop and put it into the bowl, muttering about how vanilla shouldn't be needed in chocolate treats, as the treats were _chocolate_

"Don't forget chocolate," I said.

"I'm not there yet," said Regulus. "Oh. Yes I am. Baking cocoa... er... Blinky, can you get some?"

Blinky popped out of sight again and returned with a box of cocoa. Regulus glanced at the recipe I'd given him (it was a cookie recipe, we were just going to shape the cookies like dog treats). "Three-fourths of a cup? That hardly seems enough."

Regulus dumped the much more than three-fourths of a cup into the mix. "Baking soda... Blinky, do we have Sprite? Sirius isn't allowed caffeine."

This would be interesting. Very interesting.

Blinky returned with the Sprite, and Regulus poured some in, handing it back to Blinky. "Okay... salt? Huh. Weird. Do you think they mean something else...? Oh well..."

Regulus grabbed the salt shaker and poured probably too much salt in. He also added butter and sugar, before pausing. "Uh... _brown_ sugar? Hmm... Blinky, get me some food colouring."

Blinky did; Regulus poured the instructed amount of 'brown sugar' into a cup, and added brown food colouring. I laughed aloud as he poured it in, but didn't bother correcting him.

"Eggs," he said, putting in two whole eggs. "Weird. And chocolate chunks..." he shrugged, grabbed a chocolate bar, and tore it into pieces, which he then dropped in the bowl. "Great! No we just stick it in the oven for a few minutes!"

He did so; I silently hoped he would blow our house sky high. Regulus held out the bowl to me. "Want some?"

"Er... no," I said. Regulus shrugged, and stuck his finger in the bowl, bringing it up covered in batter. He stuck it in his mouth with a grin that quickly faded.

"Oh, gross!" he cried, grabbing a bottle of water and chugging it. "I can't see how Sirius can stand those things! Blech!"

I decided not to mention it was probably the Sprite and egg shells.

"Now we wait," said Regulus. "Gee, I sure hope this works..."

I wanted to say that I did too, but I settle for, "I'm sure it will."

"Oh, making cookies?" Dad asked, walking in. He grabbed a spoon and scooped some of batter out, sticking it in his mouth. "Blech! What is _in_ these!?"

"Do you think I was supposed to use something other than Sprite for baking soda?" Regulus asked. "Sirius can't have caffeine, though..."

Dad snorted. "Reg, baking soda isn't actual soda," he pulled a can of baking soda out of the cabinet. "_This_ is baking soda."

"Oh..." said Regulus, turning red. "And I suppose there's actually something called brown sugar too?"

"And you aren't supposed to add eggshells," I said helpfully. "Or ice cream."

Dad peered at the ingredients list. "Next time, wait 'till you Aunt Carol gets home."

"Yeah, okay," Regulus blushed. "Do you think Sirius will like them?"

"Believe me," I said. "Knowing Sirius, he will."

* * *

Ten minutes later, the 'dog treats' came out of the oven, looking lopsided but otherwise unharmed. We voted against testing them, instead deciding to bring them to Sirius the next morning. Regulus had retired to his room to draw something, and I for one was completely bored.

"Dad, I'm gonna go for a walk," I decided. Dad nodded. "Keep an eye on Reg, will you? Don't let him in the kitchen."

Dad gave me an amused glance. "Based on what just happened? Not a chance."

I smiled; the kitchen had been left in shambles, flour and Sprite and egg everywhere. I chuckled and shook my head, wandering out of the house. I wondered vaguely if I should bring my wand... Nah, nothing would happen, it was just a walk; I wasn't even going into town.

I'd always liked the peaceful area right outside the town of Godric's Hollow. Our house was a few miles outside the town, and I'd always loved the little park nearby. But today, something seemed off. It was too quiet.

I'd learned not to trust 'too quiet'.

"You're worrying yourself over nothing," I told myself. "Quit worrying."

"Oh, I'd worry if I were you," My blood ran cold; I turned slowly on my feet, staring in horror as Death Eaters surrounded me. Voldemort smirked, his red eyes glinting. "Potter, is it?"

"Yes," I said through gritted teeth. "That'd be my name. What do you want?"

Voldemort's eyes flashed. "Revenge."

I blinked. "Okay; what'd I ever do to you?"

"Nothing, really," said Voldemort. "Your little friend did. He should have thought twice before taunting me, Lord Voldemort!"

My eyes widened. "Hey, lay off him, he's a kid. He taunts everyone."

"No one taunts Lord Voldemort!" Voldemort roared. "I will kill him myself, in person!"

I groaned. "Great, another person who wants my best friend dead."

"Tell me, how did your friend like my delayed curses?" Voldemort asked conversationally.

"Oh, yeah, he _loved_ it," I said. "Told me to thank you for him."

Some of the Death Eaters looked confused; Voldemort's eyes flashed in annoyance.

"Just saying," I said.

"And you," said Voldemort suddenly, fixing his evil eyes on me. "You are the perfect bait."

"I hate to tell you," I said. "But Sirius can't come after me; he's somewhere he can't exactly escape very easily."

"I don't care," replied Voldemort. "Do you not have faith in your friend to come for you?"

"I do," I muttered. "That's what worries me."

"Will you come quietly?" Voldemort asked; I stared at him.

"Oh, yeah, _sure_," I retorted sarcastically. "Can I tell my parents where I'm going first? I'd hate to be kidnapped without their permission and all."

"Should we let him, milord?" asked a stupid Death Eater. I face-palmed.

"Oh, honestly, you lot are _stupid_!" I declared. "Of course I won't come quietly!"

With that, I reeled back and slammed my fist into Voldemort's face. He stumbled backwards, hissing in rage. "You fool! How dare you! _Crucio_!"

I rolled out of the way to the curse. Death Eaters came running at me from all directions; I stuck my foot out and tripped one of them, and punched another in the stomach, yelling at the top of my lungs. "VOLDEMORT! DEATH EATERS! COME QUICK!"

I hoped Dad would hear me. I elbowed another Death Eater in the face, and kicked the next one as hard as I could in the shin. He hopped away, cursing in pain. I grabbed a rock off the path, and threw it at the nearest Death Eater, before giving the next one a mouthful of dirt, dodging colourful spells the whole time. It must have been luck or adrenaline, because there was no way I'd have ever done this well otherwise.

"YOU FOOLS!" yelled Voldemort. "GET HIM!"

"Shut up, snake-face!" I shouted, slamming two Death Eaters' heads together, leaving them to stumble away, dazed. A horrible cutting spell hit my shoulder, and I put my hand to the wound, pulling away to find the hand drenched in blood. I shoved the hand into another Death Eater's face, and he freaked out, giving me time to punch him in the ribs. I desperately hoped that Dad would show up soon.

I heard a shout. "JAMES!"

"You idiots!" roared Voldemort. "_Stupefy_!"

I was so surprised that Voldemort hadn't used the Killing Curse that the jet of light caught me square in the chest, and my entire world went black.

**A/N: Hullo! Don't kill me! The kidnapping was a friend's idea. You can find the actual recipe for the cookies here: ?evt19=1. Regulus messed it up a bit. Thank you to Accalia Silvermoon, N.E. Person, Theta-McBride, Lady Loophole, sk8boards4ever, and jeremiah123 for reviewing! Moony plushies for you, and some of Regulus's cookies if you're brave enough! :D Hope you enjoyed!**

**I do NOT own Harry Potter.**


	31. Chapter 31

It was dark when I woke up; I had no clue where I was. I just knew I was in big trouble- Voldemort had kidnapped me as bait for Sirius. He'd keep me alive... but, then again, I'd punched him in the face... I didn't even want to think of the kind of revenge he could get for _that_.

I looked around, trying to place my surroundings. It was nowhere I recognized. I was in some sort of cell, the only light filtering in through a barred window near the ceiling.

"Well, this is just great," I huffed. "If I'd just stayed home, I wouldn't be in this mess."

And what a mess it was. If Sirius caught wind of my capture, things were going to spiral downwards very fast. I could easily picture what would happen: Sirius would rush heroically to the rescue, give himself up in exchange for my safety, and get himself killed. _Again_.

Then again, that was a worst case scenario. Perhaps the Healers would be able to keep Sirius from leaving, or Dad would get here with a bunch of Aurors and rescue me before Sirius ever finds out.

Now I'm being too optimistic.

I shifted my position, wincing at the pain in my shoulder. I brought my hand up to it, and pulled away, hissing in pain. My hand had a sticky red substance on it, but not enough for me to be worried. I didn't feel too lightheaded, at the very least.

Other than my shoulder, my head was pounding horribly. I ran my hand through my hair, and jerked away again, cursing. My fingers had more blood on them, and I groaned at my bad luck; I'd probably hit my head after being knocked out.

I leaned against the wall, grimacing and wishing someone would hurry up and find me. I was less worried about myself as my friends. Had Regulus been with Dad when I was taken? I knew Dad had been there; I'd heard him yell my name. I hoped Regulus had stayed at home- he was as rash as his brother, although he was less likely to jump into danger. Unfortunately, he'd probably tell Sirius what happened, and _Sirius_ would come up with a stupid plan that Regulus would go along with.

The door opened; I grabbed a rock nearby, ready to strike.

"Fancy seeing you here, Potter," said Bellatrix, eyes glinting. I growled. "I can't _wait_ to see my cousin again."

"Really?" I said. "Cause I think he was glad to see you go."

Bellatrix hissed. "Don't be cheeky, boy!"

"I wasn't being cheeky," I replied. "Just stating the truth."

Bellatrix brandished her wand at me. "Would you like a little taste of what I can do, Potter?"

"If it's anything like your cousin's cooking, I'd rather not," I replied. Bellatrix's eyes flashed again, and I didn't have time to dodge the red jet of light that hit me in the chest. I screamed (I think) as the unbearable pain took over again. I hated the Cruciatus; not only because of the intense feeling of being ripped limb from limb and being burned alive and all, but also because it reminded me too much of Sirius's death. The curse was over as soon as it started, and I lifted my heard from the dirt to glare hatefully at Bellatrix.

"Painful, isn't it?" Bellatrix asked, a sadistic smile on her face. "It's a shame Sirius ran away; it was always so entertaining to see him squirm. Aunt Walburga is fabulous at that curse."

"Shut up," I growled, pulling myself shakily to my feet. "Don't talk about Sirius like that."

"He stopped screaming, though," continued Bellatrix. I gritted my teeth. "It's a shame. I'd like to learn that curse the Dark Lord used- that made him scream."

Her black eyes held so much delight that I punched her in the face. She let out a shriek of fury. "INSOLENT BOY! YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT! _CRUCIO_!_ CRUCIO_!"

Both curses hit me in rapid succession, doubling the pain. I know I screamed this time; I wondered how anyone couldn't. I tasted a coppery, warm liquid in my mouth that dribbled down my chin. The curse lifted, leaving me panting and wiping blood from my chin, spitting the rest of it on the floor in front of Bellatrix.

"Don't like that, do you?" she taunted.

I responded by saying some very nasty things to her.

Bellatrix's eyes flashed. "You do understand, boy, that the Dark Lord can do much worse than me? He is angry with you. You won't survive to see the light of day when he's through. You'll see; he'll kill my cousin and make you watch, and then he'll kill you too."

"He won't hurt Sirius," I snarled. "I'd die before I let that happen."

Bellatrix let out an evil cackle that resounded horribly around the walls of my cell. "Why, Potter, you don't have much of a choice."

She was right, of course. If Sirius came to my rescue, I'd be no help to him, especially in this state. My head was spinning, and black spots were dancing in my vision. Only fierce will and anger was keeping me conscious. I was hardly able to protect myself, let alone Sirius. Bellatrix's charcoal eyes glinted malevolently, obviously thinking the same thing.

"I do hope the Dark Lord will allow me to participate in my cousin's death," she said. "I want to see the light leave his eyes."

I lunged, tackling Bellatrix to the ground, a burning hatred filling my mind, blinding my common sense. Bellatrix screeched in anger as I punched her again. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my side; I gasped painfully, and Bellatrix moved away, holding a dagger gleaming with a dark red substance.

My hands found my side; I glanced down. In the dim light, I could make out a horrible gash. Bellatrix smiled wickedly, and left the room. I wondered if now would be an appropriate time to panic.

No. No, it wouldn't. I pulled off my t-shirt, shivering in the coldness of the cell.

_Better cold than dead_, I thought, pressing the shirt to my side and hissing in pain. I slid down the wall, leaning against it and trying to quell the bleeding. Well, this would be a _great_ way to die: alone in a cell hoping desperately that my friends would be smart enough not to come looking for me.

I felt myself losing consciousness, and tried hopelessly to stay awake. I had to stop the bleeding; if I fell asleep now, I knew I might not wake up. Nonetheless, darkness consumed me once more.

* * *

"Is he dead?"

"No, you dolt! He can't be dead, the Dark Lord wants him alive!"

"Are you sure?"

I winced slightly, feeling a sudden, sharp kick to my ribs. I didn't move; everything hurt and I didn't want to aggravate my wounds. I registered just barely two Death Eaters standing above me.

"Well, just leave the food," said one. "If he's dead, we're already in trouble. If he dies cause we didn't feed him, we might as well dig our own graves."

"Okay," said the other. A plate of food (if you could call it that) was set in front of me. The Death Eaters left the room, slamming the door. I groaned, and sat up, letting out a tiny cry as pain shot up my side. At least I was alive. I ate the food quickly; even if it was horrible, I'd rather not starve. How long had I been out?

I checked my side. The bleeding had stopped. I was relieved; I'd been worried. I felt lightheaded and dizzy, and judging by the amount of blood on the floor, I'd either been out a while or I'd lost a lot of blood in a short span of time. The blood sickened me, but I stopped myself from vomiting up my meal. I kind of needed the food inside my body.

I must have been a miserable sight to see: my torso was covered in dirt and dried blood, and my glasses were cracked and blurry. Not that I could see much anyways, in this darkness.

Just then, I heard something. An impossible sound. "Prongs? Hullo? Regulus, I don't think he has his mirror."

"No, I think he does!"

I started suddenly, pulling a slightly cracked mirror from my pocket in disbelief, staring and allowing myself a small smile. Regulus and Sirius turned to face me, and Sirius let out a string of curse that Regulus really didn't need to hear.

"Are you okay?" Regulus asked worriedly. "You're all bloody!"

"I'm fine," I said, my voice hoarse. "Just a bit beat up."

"A bit?" Sirius repeated incredulously. "Mate, what the heck happened to you?"

"Well," I said pensively. "The cut on my shoulder I got when fighting the Death Eaters, and I must have hit my head when Voldemort knocked me out. And, er, Bellatrix got me with a few Cruciatus."

Sirius growled. "Bloody snake. I'll kill her."

"Er... yeah, and then she said some... not so nice things and I tackled her and she stabbed me," based on Sirius and Regulus's expressions, I probably shouldn't have mentioned that. Regulus whimpered, and Sirius muttered more curses. "It's fine! Where are you guys? That certainly doesn't look like the hospital."

"It's not," said Sirius. "We're on our way to rescue you."

I gaped. "_What_?"

"Reg came and told me what happened, then he broke me out of the hospital," explained Sirius. "When we got home, we overheard some Aurors talking with your dad about your location. They were trying to figure out a plan, but me and Reg left immediately. Then Regulus thought of the mirror."

"I remembered that you had it with you," said Regulus. "You must not have realized, though, since you carry that thing everywhere."

He was right; I hadn't realized, and, thankfully, neither had the Death Eaters.

"So we stopped here," Sirius continued. "To try and call you and make sure you were okay."

"Go back," I urged. Sirius rolled his eyes. "No, really, Sirius! It's a trap!"

"A trap?" asked Regulus sharply. "What do you mean?"

"Voldemort wants Sirius!" I exclaimed. Sirius didn't seem surprised, but Regulus's eyes widened almost comically. "I mean, he's pretty mad at me too for punching him in the face but-"

"You punched him in the face!?" Sirius laughed. "Oh, that's brilliant! Wish I'd seen it!"

"Not the point, Sirius," I said, shifting slightly and wincing at the pain in my side. "Look, he expects you to come rescue me. He'll _kill_ you, Sirius."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Does it look like I care?"

"Regulus, hit him for me," I muttered. Regulus must of punched Sirius in the arm, because seconds later, Sirius yelped. "Thank you."

"No problem," said Regulus easily.

"That's nice," Sirius grumbled. "Anyways, James, I've told you once and I'll tell you again: saving your life is worth sacrificing mine."

"You wouldn't even be able to save my life, though," I argued. "He'd kill you then he'd kill me, or vice versa. And you're dragging Regulus along, so he'd probably be killed too."

Sirius flinched; he obviously hadn't thought of that. Suddenly, his face lit up. "That's it! I've got a plan."

Regulus and I both groaned. "Oh no, not good."

"No, it's a good plan!" Sirius insisted. "Regulus is good at being sneaky, right? I mean, he managed to get me past those Healers. We've got the cloak, too. So, Reg sneaks in and breaks you out while I create a distraction. Hopefully the Aurors will show up before Voldie kills me, but it's no big loss if they don't. There. You'll both get away."

I frowned, and Regulus hit his brother in the back of the head. "Sirius, you dolt, we aren't just going to leave you."

"Well, we can't wait for the Aurors," Sirius replied. "James is hurt; he'll get hurt worse if he stays longer. This is the best plan we've got; there's no way all three of us can sneak in and out, I'm clumsier than James is on stairs."

"Oi!"

"Well, it's true," Sirius shrugged. "If I can provide a good enough distraction... of course, I won't be stupid; I'll try to stay alive."

It was the only plan we had, but I was still completely against it. "There's no way I'm going to let you risk your life-"

"There's not much you can do, is there?" Sirius pointed out. "Look, tell you what, we'll send an owl back to your dad with the plan. That way they'll be more likely to show up on time and I'm less likely to die. Lily, Remus, Peter, and Snape-"

"What?" I said. "When did they get brought into this?"

"A few hours ago," Regulus answered. "We owled them too."

"Yeah, they're on their way too, so I ought to be good," Sirius beamed

I narrowed my eyes. "Sirius, the Killing Curse takes literally two seconds to say and it kills you _instantly_. Voldemort could be done with you before Regulus even reaches me."

Sirius smiled wryly. "I get the impression he won't want my death to be quick and painless, though."

I grimaced; he was right, of course.

"Just hang tight," Sirius said. He gave me a reassuring smile. Regulus's eyes were worried and sad. "We better go; the sooner we get there, the better."

With that, the mirror went blank.

**A/N: Hi! An update! :D Sirius has a plan- a dumb plan, but a plan! James (miraculously) has the mirror! Bellatrix is still evil! Big thanks to my reviewers, jeremiah123, sk8boards4ever, and guest! Erm... can't think of any more virtual gifts. :P Hope everyone enjoyed!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**


	32. Chapter 32

There was absolutely no way this plan was going to work.

Regulus and Sirius had called again and explained the whole plan: Regulus would sneak in under invisibility cloak while Sirius barged straight in as a distraction. The Aurors knew about the plan now, so they'd rush in as soon as they arrived. There would be a couple of curse breakers working on the anti-Apparation wards, and once Regulus and I got out and the wards were down, they'd fire the signal and the Aurors would Apparate away (with Sirius, of course). The back-up Aurors and curse breakers would Apparate with me, Reg, and the others (Lily, Remus, Peter, and Severus). If needed, apparently Regulus and the others had a plan to defeat any Death Eaters that happened to show up. I had to admit it was a good plan.

Except for the whole using Sirius as a distraction thing.

I knew the plan had started the moment I heard the commotion; shouting, cackling laughs, and Sirius's taunts filtered into my cell like from a bad radio reception. Minutes later, I heard a thump and my door opened. Regulus smiled at me.

"I should have expected a guard," he chuckled, gesturing to the fallen Death Eater. He brandished a frying pan. "I transfigured this from a rock."

"Why didn't you just stupefy him?" I asked.

Regulus grinned. "Hitting him on the head with a frying pan sounded like more fun."

I laughed, and agreed. Regulus pulled the cloak over both of us. "Remember, if we pass Sirius, don't stop to do anything. You wouldn't be much help, anyways."

I nodded hesitantly, and we crept through the hallways. We passed right by a several Death Eaters and Aurors fighting. I stopped, and held out my hand to stop Regulus, before examining the scene. I saw my dad fighting viciously with Bellatrix, and Moody shooting spells at anyone wearing back. I finally caught sight of Sirius; he was bleeding, but he was still laughing and shooting spells everywhere. I let out a sigh of relief.

"He's alive," I muttered, before nodding and continuing forward, followed by Regulus. It wasn't much farther until we hit open ground, and broke out into a run. We reached an area that looked much like a camp, and Regulus tore off the cloak.

"Phase three complete!" he shouted.

I gaped. "_Three_? How many phases are there?"

"Phase four in progress," said one curse breaker. "How are the Aurors doing?"

"Doing good," I answered. "No one's dead, at least."

"Thank goodness," Lily sighed, rushing forward and engulfing me in a hug. She led me back towards another tent. "We've got Healers here too. Sirius told us about your injuries."

I nodded, and we walked in the tent. Five Healers immediately surrounded me. Mum smiled and hugged me, before sitting me down on a transfigured bed. "How are you, Jamie?"

"Much better," I replied. I frowned. "How much longer do you think it will take the curse breakers to break the anti-Apparation ward?"

"I don't know, sweetie," she said. "But Sirius and your father will be fine."

"I sure hope so," I said. Mum smiled, and began examining my injuries. She scowled and handed me a potion, before conjuring bandages.

"Drink," she ordered. "Now you and Sirius both will be stuck in St. Mungo's. Thank goodness Regulus has the common sense to stay uninjured."

"I didn't _choose_ to get kidnapped," I retorted. "I was going to ask permission."

Mum snorted as she got to work on my side wound. "You probably made it worse for yourself."

"Yeah, probably," I said, wincing as Mum used some sort of antibacterial spell to clean my side. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to tackle Bellatrix."

"You think," Lily said from the corner, crossing her arms. "Fat lot of good you'd do us getting yourself killed."

"Oh, whatever," I shrugged, and Mum whacked me in the back of the head as my shoulder started bleeding again. "Sorry, Mum."

"Don't move," she said. "I'll stun you if I have to, James."

There was a sudden shout outside. I shot up immediately and ran out, ignoring the Healers' protests. Several Death Eaters had flooded into the clearing, and they looked very surprised to see us. Regulus tossed me his wand. "Here!"

"What? But you-" Regulus cut me off, grinning as he brought his trusty frying pan down on the nearest Death Eater's head. "Oh. I suppose you're good then."

"Yep!" Regulus beamed, grabbing one of his cookies and shoving it into the next Death Eater's mouth. "And, you know, turns out these cookies are good for something after all!"

I chuckled, and immediately started shooting spells at the Death Eaters, joined in quickly by the Aurors at camp and Remus, Peter, Lily and Severus. You know that plan I mentioned? Completely forget it.

"They probably called for back-up," yelled Snape over the commotion.

I nodded. "Yeah, probably!"

"James, you shouldn't be fighting," said Remus. "You're hurt."

"I don't really care, Moony," I declared. "If those curse breakers can't get that ward down, Sirius and Dad and the other Aurors could be hurt or worse!"

"He's right," Peter said, attempting to shoot spells but failing miserably. "Darn! I'm just no good at this."

"Take some cookies," Regulus offered, holding out the tray with one hand while chucking a few cookies at the Death Eaters with the other. Peter shrugged, and grabbed a handful of cookies, throwing them at the Death Eaters.

"This is the weirdest fight I've ever seen," Remus noted, shaking his head bemusedly as Regulus hit another Death Eater over the head with his frying pan and shoved cookies into his mouth.

"Eat cookies, snake-face!" Regulus cackled.

Peter ran at a Death Eater whose back was turned. "SNEAK ATTACK!"

The Death Eater turned and side-stepped, right into the path of Regulus frying pan, which he was swinging around wildly. I raised an eyebrow. "Peter, sneak attacks don't work announce them."

Peter blushed. "Oh yeah. Whoops."

So far, I thought we were doing good: the curse breakers were undisturbed, and the Death Eaters were sorely losing (and covered in cookie crumbs). I hoped Sirius and the Aurors on the inside were doing as good.

"JAMES POTTER!" I heard Mum shriek. "Get back here!"

"But, Mum, we're winning!" I replied, hexing a Death Eater with a colour-changing charm that turned his hair neon pink. "Even if we're using slightly unorthodox methods."

"Slightly?" Snape snorted, as he stuck out his foot and tripped the nearest Death Eater. "Cookies, frying pans, and school-boy charms- and we're causing more damage than the Aurors!"

It was true. The Aurors were pretty much just standing there, dumbfounded, as they watched us, the kids, thoroughly beating the Death Eaters with cookies and frying pans and hair colouring charms.

"Yeah," I agreed. "A whole lot more damage. Oi! How are those wards coming?"

"We're done!" yelled one. "Light the signal for phase seven!"

"When did we get to seven?" I asked.

The curse breaker shrugged. "Well, we figured we should add the attack into the plan."

"Oh," I said.

Regulus grinned maniacally and pulled out five Filibuster's Fireworks roped together and lit the fuse, pointing it and the Death Eaters and cackling. "See ya, snake-dudes!"

The Death Eaters scrambled to the side as the fireworks just barely missed them and shot into the sky, lighting up and making a lot of noise. There were several cracks from inside, which I assumed were the Aurors Apparating.

"As soon as everyone is out, we'll leave," said one Auror; he eyed the remaining cookies. "Say, you think we could get some of those? They seem to be pretty useful."

Regulus beamed widely, and held out the tray. "Help yourselves."

* * *

It didn't take very long for everyone to get out. It was only a few minutes before the last of us appeared at the meeting place, which turned out to be Hogsmeade. Regulus and I caught sight of my dad and Sirius, and ran over.

"We kicked their butts!" Regulus declared proudly, brandishing his frying pan. "I told you this thing would be useful."

"You did," Sirius laughed. I smiled, and pulled Sirius and Regulus into a group hug. "Woah, Prongs! Happy to see us much?"

"You have no idea," I said. I pulled away, and whacked Sirius in the head. "You idiot! I thought you were going to get yourself killed!"

"I didn't," Sirius replied. "I'm a little worse for the wear, but I'm fine and- oh crud! Hide me!"

Sirius ducked behind Dad just as Mum walked up, her arms crossed. "Sirius Orion Black! This was, by far, the rashest, most inexplicably stupid thing you have ever done!"

"I'm not here, you can't see me," Sirius said. Mum rolled her eyes, grabbed Sirius's arm, and pulled him out from behind Dad. "Ack! You can! James, help!"

"You're on your own, mate," I replied.

"Breaking out of St. Mungo's! Risking your neck! You could have been killed!" Mum exclaimed. She pun on her heel suddenly to face Regulus. "And you! Going along with his loony plan!"

Regulus, for his part, smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Aunt Carol."

"Now, Jamie, for once I'm not mad at you," Mum declared. "Although I wish you hadn't of fought. I suppose we'll have to add another bed to Sirius room, now that you'll both be stuck there."

"No!" Sirius shouted dramatically. "You can't make me go back there! It's prison, woman, prison!"

"Oh, you did not just call me 'woman'," Mum scowled. Sirius flushed, and hid behind Dad again. "Don't think Jacob can save you. Might as well send you to the permanent ward if you keep this up."

"It's evil," Sirius insisted. "You can't take me back there! We just want to go home, right, Jamie?"

"Home would be nice," I agreed. "My bed is probably much softer than those hospital beds. That's just what I want right now. Sleep."

"Yes! And you can sleep at home!" Sirius said. "We aren't that injured, you can heal us!"

"Nope, not happening," Mum frowned, pulling out her wand and casting a diagnostic spell on Sirius. "Merlin, child, what were you doing in there?"

"Duelling Death Eaters,' Sirius said. "And unlike you lot, we weren't using cookies and frying pans."

"Shame," Regulus commented. "That was really fun."

"You lot probably got the stupid Death Eaters," Sirius pointed out. "Anyways, Voldemort doesn't seem to like me much."

"You think?" I asked. "He took me as bait for you."

"Sorry about that," Sirius muttered. "For the record, if he tries something like that again, I'm juts going to let him kill me so he'll leave all of you alone.

Regulus whimpered, and I clenched my fists. "You git; don't you dare."

Dad grabbed Sirius shoulders. "Sirius, you realize we won't let you do that, right?"

"It's weird," said Sirius. "If you were my real dad, you'd have said go ahead and get yourself killed; the sooner the better."

"If I were your real dad," Dad chuckled. "Then you'd have never known Orion Black. I never liked him much at school."

"He hexed him daily," Mum said sourly. "I don't have to wonder where James got his mischievous streak."

"You hexed my father daily!?" Sirius grinned. "That's brilliant! Wish I could have been there; I'd have joined in!"

"At any rate, Sirius," I said. "There's no way we'll let you die. Not if I can help it."

"Or me," Regulus agreed, spinning his frying pan.

Mum eyed the frying pan warily. "We'll never be able to take that from you, will we?"

"Nope!" Regulus beamed. "It's my new favourite weapon."

"And the cookies," I added. "Did you save the recipe?"

"I wrote it down," Dad supplied. "I'd thought it was funny at the time; who knew they'd be useful against Death Eaters."

"Wish I'd had some of those," Sirius snickered. "Imagine the look on Bellatrix's face if I'd beaten her with cookies!"

"Now that," I said. "Is something I'd like to see."

**A/N: YES! Update! This chapter turned out a whole lot funnier than I originally planned. Can anyone spot the allusions I made? There's two! I just had to add the frying pan and the cookies. And they're all okay! Which defeats the purpose of the last chapter, which was to darken things up a bit. :P Oh well, I'll work on that. Big thanks to sk8boards4ever, jeremiah123, MSupernatural, and N.E. Person (did you really mean **_**poor Bellatrix**_**!?) for reviewing! Free frying pans for you! XD Hope you enjoyed!**

**Honestly, I'm never going to own Harry Potter...**


	33. Chapter 33

"Sirius Black! If I have to ask you one more time to stay put, I swear, I'll lock you in a padded room!"

It was another fairly normal day at St. Mungo's. Sirius had once more tried futilely to escape; Mum had once again caught him red-handed and dragged him back to his bed.

"I want out," Sirius whined. "I don't like it here. James doesn't either, right, James?"

"Hmm, I'll like it less when my side is healed," I said. "But for now, I rather like it here."

"Of course you do," Sirius chuckled. "But I'm perfectly healed."

"You are not," Mum replied. "In fact, if you keep this up, you'll never heal. Honestly, you reopen at least one cut every two days, and you've given yourself so many bruises I'm amazed you aren't permanently black and blue."

"Not blue, just Black," Sirius retorted cheekily. I groaned.

"At any rate, I suppose I can let you both out for a few hours," said Mum slowly; Sirius and I grinned. "But the moment either of you start bleeding or, really, feel any pain at all, come get me."

"Yes!"

"Thanks Mum!"

Mum groaned. "Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to regret this?"

Sirius and I just grinned deviously and ran out of the room.

The first place we went after escaping (or being freed from) St. Mungo's was my house. If we were going to wreak havoc, might as well pick up our cookie-throwing, frying pan-swinging sidekick.

"Regulus!" Sirius shouted. "We're back!"

Regulus came running into the room, covered in flour. "Hiya!"

"Why are you white?" Sirius asked. I had a hunch.

"I was baking," Regulus grinned. "I think I got it right this time; can't be too sure, though. We didn't have any margarine (and I don't know what that is) so I just didn't use that."

"Margarine is butter," I said. "Well, pretty much."

"Oh," Regulus shrugged. "I'm sure it won't mess things up too much."

"If it does, your baking seems to be a good weapon against Death Eaters," Sirius snickered. "Are the rumours true? Did you _really_ sell some to the Aurors?"

"What rumours?" I asked. "Dad came and told us, remember?"

"Right, but Uncle Jacob tends to exaggerate," Sirius replied. "Wanna come with us? We're going to hang out in Muggle London."

"Wreak havoc in Muggle London," I corrected. "You, especially, are unable to go anywhere without wreaking havoc."

"I feel bad for the Muggles," Regulus chuckled. "Too bad you can't do magic in Muggle London."

Sirius gaped, and I face-palmed. "Duh. Forgot."

"No magic," Sirius lamented. "What are we to do?"

"We can sell cookies," Regulus suggested, grinning evilly.

I shook my head bemusedly. "Those poor, poor Muggles. Hope you don't poison them."

"Don't worry," Regulus laughed. "Aunt Carol helped; I slipped in a few of your hair colour changing potions and voice changing potions."

"Wicked," Sirius and I chorused.

"You're a genius, Reg," I beamed.

Sirius nodded. "It's pretty obvious you're my brother, after all."

"Was there any doubt?" Regulus huffed, crossing his arms. "At any rate, we have to be careful."

"Isn't James supposed to be the responsible one?" Sirius asked.

I smiled bemusedly. "You know, if you'd told me that back in the beginning of fifth year, I'd of shipped you off to St. Mungo's."

"Gee, thanks, mate," Sirius said sarcastically. "Online my least favourite place in the world."

"I thought that was Grimmauld Place?" Regulus countered. Sirius frowned pensively, and nodded. "Thought so."

"Considering my evil parents," Sirius shuddered.

"Especially considering your evil parents," I agreed. "But you'll never being going back there. St. Mungo's, however, you'll be returning to later today."

"I'll lock myself in my room," Sirius retorted. "I'm not going back to that place!"

"And I'll stun you if I have to," I replied smugly, as Sirius scowled. "Well, we best get going. No need to keep those poor, defenceless Muggles waiting."

* * *

"Cookies! We've got cookies!" yelled Regulus. "Come and get them!"

"Only one galleon!" Sirius added, and a few Muggle pedestrians gave him a weird look. "What?"

"He means £5," I corrected hurriedly. "Forgive my brother; he's not quite right in the head."

A couple of the Muggles nodded, and one woman gave Sirius a pitying glance and bought an entire batch of cookies. Regulus snickered. "I always knew Sirius's madness would be useful someday."

"I'm not mad," grumbled Sirius. "I'm perfectly right in the head, thank you very much."

"Right," I said. "Says the boy who does the craziest things imaginable."

"I have rather good ideas,' Sirius defended himself. "Like the plan I made to save you-"

"That one nearly got you killed," I pointed out.

"Well, there was that one to escape from the Hospital Wing-"

"You gave yourself a concussion that time," said Regulus.

Sirius scowled. "Okay, what about that one time when I almost-"

"No, I'm pretty sure that was the time you reopened the gash on your chest and were unconscious for three hours," I replied. "Face it, Padfoot: you don't make good plans."

"I'll prove you wrong," Sirius muttered.

"Just don't get yourself killed in the process," I suggested drily.

Regulus nodded in agreement. "Or we'll bring you back and kill you ourselves."

"Gee, thanks," Sirius commented sarcastically.

All of a sudden, there was a scream. I shot to my feet, as did Sirius and Regulus (who brandished his frying pan threateningly). Before we could react, the street was swarming with Death Eaters.

"Crud," I muttered. "Hide."

"Hide!?" Sirius exclaimed, jumping over the table, wand in hand. "Ha! Like that'll happen. These Muggles are defenceless, we have to do something!"

"Sirius, Voldemort wants to kill you," Regulus pointed out.

"Then I'm the perfect distraction," Sirius declared. "You guys hide, quick. HEY! SLIMY SNAKES, OVER HERE!"

I cursed under my breath as the Death Eaters turned to face us, and brandished my wand. "You're going to get us all killed, Sirius."

"Not if you two leave right now," Sirius retorted, shooting a random stunner at the nearest Death Eater. Regulus, as if to prove that we weren't leaving, sped forward with a shout and slammed his frying pan down on a Death Eater's head. "Regulus!"

Regulus smiled. "Did you really think we'd leave you?"

The fight was on, and we were terribly out numbered. Muggles were running for their lives- well, most of them. Some men in uniforms- police, were they called?- were coming to our aid.

"Who the heck are they?" one shouted to me.

"Death Eaters," I replied. "They're dark Wizards, believe it or not. They kind of want to kill us; well, mostly Sirius and I, but Regulus is pretty high up on their list."

I nodded towards Regulus, yelling childish taunts and whacking Death Eaters with his frying pan. "That's Regulus."

"You three are just kids, we can handle this," said the policeman.

I snorted. "Yeah, sure. Watch it- _expelliarmus_!"

The Death Eater's wand flew out of his hand, and Regulus followed up by shoving cookies in his face. I had to admire his successful but slightly unorthodox methods of fighting.

"And look out for green lights," I advised. "Those things kill on contact."

The policeman paled, and started passing the message along. I turned to Sirius. "There's gonna be a hoard of Obliviators here in a minute."

"Yup," said Sirius, dodging a spell and retaliating with a body bind.

"Where are the Aurors?" Regulus shouted.

I frowned. "I bet they don't know about the attack!"

"So it's three wizards and a bunch of defenceless Muggles against maybe fifty Death Eaters?"

"Don't count on defenceless," said a policeman. He pulled out a strange metal thing- what was it called? Oh, yes, a gun- and aimed it at the nearest Death Eater. Something hit the Death Eater in the shoulder, and he fell to the ground.

"Wicked," Sirius beamed. "Where do I get one?"

"Sirius, you aren't getting a gun," I said. "One: you're thirteen; two: those things are dangerous and you'd probably end up accidentally killing yourself."

"He would," Regulus agreed. "How long d'you think it'd take him? An hour?"

"Less," I replied.

I thought we were doing pretty good, considering that we were horribly outnumbered. Sirius, Regulus, and I were all miraculously unharmed, and the Death Eater's numbers were dwindling.

I shouldn't have got my hopes up, because just then, reinforcements arrived. Death Eater reinforcements. Including Voldemort himself, who's glinting red eyes immediately focused on the three of us.

"So we meet again," he said, almost conversationally.

Sirius scowled. "Unfortunately."

"Sirius," I muttered warningly as Voldemort twirled his wand. "Don't taunt him."

"Why not?" Sirius said. "He's annoying, he's foul, and he's a biased git."

Regulus groaned and I face-palmed. Voldemort's eyes flashed, and with a flick of his wand, Sirius cried out and fell to the ground, his leg twisted oddly and blood seeping from an open wound. I growled threateningly as Regulus pulled Sirius to his feet.

"Gee, thanks," Sirius commented sarcastically.

"Shut up," I said. "You'll make things worse."

The fighting had stopped; all eyes were on us. Voldemort's eyes were narrowed maliciously, and he turned his wand on me. Sirius's eyes widened. "Perhaps this will teach you a lesson, Black. _Crucio_!"

I'd been under this curse enough times to know what to expect and to brace myself, but it wasn't enough, and I'm pretty sure I still ended up screaming on the ground. I could have sworn I heard someone else screaming as well. After a moment, though, the pain went away, quite suddenly. I looked up; Sirius was kneeling before me, looking up defiantly. I couldn't see his face, but I knew automatically that he was taking the curse for me. Voldemort laughed menacingly.

"Such loyalty," he noted, taking the curse off Sirius. Regulus helped me to my feet, and Sirius struggled to his. He was putting all his weight on his left leg, which was still crooked and bleeding freely.

"Better than your Death Eaters," Sirius spat. "They only follow you out of fear."

Voldemort must have already known this, for it was rather obvious; nonetheless, he sneered and cast another nonverbal spell at Sirius, who barely even flinched as his shoulder began bleeding. Regulus whimpered.

"Kid, get out of there!" yelled a policeman. None of them could reach us, blocked by Death Eaters. "Do you have a death wish?"

There were several pops a few feet away; Aurors. I hoped they'd reach us in time.

"If you want to get to my brothers," Sirius said defiantly, still glaring at Voldemort. "You'll have to get through me."

I frowned, and glanced at Regulus. He was shaking, pale, and also covered in dirt. Of course; Voldemort had gotten him too. I grabbed his hand comfortingly.

"I could kill you in two seconds, boy," Voldemort sneered.

Sirius glanced back at us, before turning to Voldemort again. "I know."

He was stalling, I realized suddenly. The Aurors were getting closer, and no one else had noticed. Sirius was trying to buy us enough time for the Aurors to reach us.

"Regulus," I whispered. "What would the hair colour changing potion do to someone without hair?"

"I don't know," said Regulus. "Hasn't been tested."

I smirked wickedly. "Do you reckon we can get Voldie to eat some?"

Regulus grinned. "Perhaps."

The Aurors were almost upon us; I passed several cookies to Sirius. "Throw them at Voldemort- try to get him to eat one. We don't know what the potion will do to him."

Sirius smiled evilly and nodded. "I'll do better than that."

"Go on ahead," I said. Sirius shot forward and hoved the cookies in Voldemort's bewildered face. Regulus and I exchanged glances, and laughed out loud. Sirius had some nerve to do that; I hoped it wouldn't backfire on him later.

The Aurors had reached us, blasting their way through the Death Eaters. Voldemort's skin had turned a blotchy greenish yellow colour, probably from the potion. Sirius had run back to us, beaming. Voldemort's eyes were flashing. "KILL HIM!"

"He sounds like a little girl," Regulus snickered. Spells were now flying everywhere; it was chaos. I couldn't tell where any spell originated, and the only person who wasn't shooting completely random spells was Regulus, who was running around with his frying pan and cookies, resulting in several Death Eaters having multi-coloured hair.

"Any sign of your dad?" Sirius asked. I shook my head. "Hmm; maybe he won't be here. Then at least we can lie and tell your mum we weren't fighting Death Eaters."

"Not likely," said Moody, who was standing nearby.

"Well, it's worth a try," Sirius shrugged. At first, I thought things were going well, all things considered. Voldemort was enraged, of course, and all his spells seemed to be aimed at Sirius. I didn't like the number of green spells that barely missed my best friend.

Another green light shot towards us quite suddenly, and I naively expected it to miss like the others.

It didn't.

**A/N: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I'm sorry, I hate leaving you hanging, but the idea just hit me (in class, believe it or not)! For the record, I feel really bad for this... Okay, so big thanks to my wonderful reviewers (please don't kill me!), jeremiah123, Danielle 189089, N. E. Person, sk8boards4ever, Lady Loophole, and Red Moon Lollipop! Erm... cookies and Reggie plushies (only if you don't kill me, so don't kill me!)! Hope you enjoyed, despite the sucky ending!**

**I'm never going to own Harry Potter.**


	34. Chapter 34

Sirius fell to the ground as if in slow motion. I rushed forward to catch him, horror welling in the pit of my stomach. Sirius's eyes were staring up at me, dull and glassy. I was vaguely aware of Regulus kneeling beside us, focusing more on the eerie stillness of Sirius's body.

"No," I whispered. "No, Sirius, snap out of it!"

There was no response; I shook my head, hardly daring to believe he could be dead. Not after everything that had happened.

"Siri, look at me," Regulus said urgently, tears leaking out of his eyes. "We can go home and play pranks on Aunt Carol and Uncle Jacob if you just get up right now, okay?"

I was well aware that the fighting had stopped. I caught several Aurors and Muggle policemen staring in horror. I clutched Sirius protectively, my mind flooding with horrible memories. I didn't even know who'd shot the spell...

"James, Regulus," I looked up blearily, my eyes filled with tears. Dad was beside us- I guess he had been at the battle after all. This couldn't be happening. Dad grabbed both of our shoulders and Apparated away. We reappeared in my living room.

"Boys, calm down," said Dad. "Sirius is okay."

"Okay!? _Okay_!?" I repeated hysterically, while Regulus looked hopeful. "How can he be okay? He was hit by the _Killing Curse_, Dad! Dead doesn't classify as _okay_!"

"He's not," Dad replied. "Well, assuming he was hit with the correct spell. An Unspeakable friend of mine found a spell- it imitates the Killing Curse in all senses, except it doesn't kill the victim. He just looks dead."

"Are you sure?" Regulus asked, naive and hopeful. "What's the counterspell?"

Dad chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thing is, I don't know."

"So what good does your stupid spell do us?" I growled. "He's still as good as dead."

"Your mother should remember," Dad said. "At any rate, Voldemort wanted Sirius dead, so, of course, if he assumes he is dead, Voldemort should be off our backs for a bit."

"At least there's that," I sighed, staring at Sirius who certainly looked very dead. "And what happens if he was actually hit with a Killing Curse?"

Dad paled. "Er... well, let's hope he wasn't."

"Did you know," Regulus said suddenly, obviously being optimistic and believing Dad. "That the potion in those cookies won't wear off for another week?"

Despite everything, I burst out laughing (possibly not as enthusiastically as usual). "Voldemort is going to be green for a week!"

"How random," Dad snickered. "Well, I'll go get Carol. Wait here."

Dad left the room, leaving Regulus and I alone with an unconscious Sirius, who looked so corpse-like that I had a hard time believing he wasn't dead. Why was it always Sirius? Why couldn't it be me for once? It was always Sirius risking his neck, Sirius nearly dying, Sirius being hurt. Regulus, naive and innocent, had simply believed Dad and decided that everything was alright; he had wandered off and was rereading _The Night Before Christmas_ (why he was reading this in the middle of the summer was beyond me). I don't think he truly realized how close Sirius had come to dying a few moments ago- also, my father's statement was ringing in my head: 'Let's hope he wasn't.'

There was still no guarantee that my best friend was even alive at this point, that I wasn't just holding a corpse, that Sirius would wake up again.

Perhaps, I worried as I brushed hair out of Sirius's face, my hand brushing his cold forehead, the spell didn't work.

"Jamie, you okay?" Regulus asked, looking over his book. I nodded half-heartedly, eyes still lingering on Sirius's pale face. His eyes were still open, staring blankly ahead. Disconcerted, I closed them. "Are you worried for Sirius?"

"Yeah," I said softly. "I guess I am."

"Don't worry," Regulus chuckled. "Uncle Jacob said he'd be fine."

He also said he wasn't sure, but Regulus looked pleased and I didn't want to worry him, so I neglected to mention this.

"Come put him on the couch," Regulus suggested. "I know he's scrawny, but that _can't_ be comfortable."

I nodded, stood up, and carried Sirius to the couch, laying him down. Regulus observed him slightly uneasily. "He's rather pale. You don't think he's- you know?"

I shook my head for Regulus's sake. This seemed to quell his worries, and he returned to reading his book. I sat on the floor next to Sirius, still upset by his eerie stillness, not unlike death. I hoped my dad would hurry up...

As if on cue, Dad and Mum returned to the room, Mum muttering furiously about Dad being irresponsible, stupid, and forgetful. Her expression softened when her eyes landed on Sirius and I, and she walked forward.

"You're injured," she noted crossly, eyes narrowing at me. I frowned confusedly, and glanced down to see that my arm was crooked and bleeding. When did _that_ happen? "Alright; I told your father that spell was a last resort. It hasn't been tested."

My worry returned tenfold, and Mum seemed to notice. "Oh, no, no, I'm sure he'll be fine, sweetie."

She shooed me aside and began muttering spells; I watched anxiously. Dad smiled reassuringly at me. "Your mother knows what she's doing."

"I know," I murmured. "I'm just worried."

"Do you want to read with me?" Regulus asked, offering his book. I shook my head. "Oh. Well, suit yourself."

It took a few moments, but soon I heard a very familiar groan. "What the- what happened?"

Mum backed away smiling as Sirius sat up, rubbing his head. "Gah, I've got a massive headache."

"Probably an after effect," Mum said kindly. "You're very lucky Jacob found that specific spell; Voldemort should be off your back for a while if you don't blatantly reveal yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"She means," said Dad. "That Voldemort and the Death Eaters and, really, everyone besides us that was at that battle all think you're dead."

"That could backfire badly," I noted, frowning. "What if there were reporters there?"

Dad frowned as well, narrowing his eyes. "You're right. That could be a problem; well, we'll sort that out if it comes to it."

"If it comes to what?" Sirius asked dumbly.

I sighed, and rolled my eyes. "If some reported publishes that you died."

"Ooh, yeah, that could be bad," Sirius grimace. "Hey, mate- were you crying!?"

"Maybe," I replied.

"You did look pretty bad," Regulus announced in my defence. "I cried a little too, until Uncle Jacob assured us you'd be fine."

"And, let me guess, James didn't believe him?" Sirius chuckled. "Go figure."

"Whatever," I muttered, blushing. "For the record, you're still pale as a sheet," I hit him on the arm. "And cold as ice!"

"Possibly a side effect," Mum said. "Unfortunately, I can't take you back to St. Mungo's, since the Death Eaters could find out that you're there."

"Yes!" Sirius exclaimed, hopping up. "Hear that, Jamie? No more St. Mungo's! I'm _free_!"

"Yay!" Regulus beamed. "Finally; now we can play Quidditch and play pranks and-"

"Not until Sirius and James are well," Mum said sternly. "And, honestly, I'm amazed you aren't injured."

Regulus picked up his frying pan. "I had a good weapon."

"We have such a weird family," Mum said incredulously, shaking her head. Dad nodded in agreement, and I laughed. Mum sighed dramatically. "Goodbye, normalcy..."

"Normalcy for us ended a long time ago," Dad said.

* * *

"JAMIE! WAKE UP!" It was the next morning; Mum had fixed my arm, and then sentenced Sirius and I to our rooms. I'd slept like a rock last night, considering everything that had happened the day before, and I was still tired.

Needless to say, when Sirius came barging into my room to wake me, I pretended to stay asleep.

I'd thought my plan worked when Sirius left the room, but, alas, he returned moments later and I was suddenly doused in freezing water. I shot up, shivering and glaring. Sirius grinned cheekily. "Morning!"

"Git," I replied, climbing out of bed. "Now I'm soaked."

"That was the plan," Sirius declared.

"I think I like Regulus better," I muttered.

Sirius laughed. "He's making breakfast."

"But I wanted breakfast this morning!" I lamented. Sirius let out another barking laugh, and raced out the door, leaving me to dry off and get dressed. I hoped Mum had been helping Regulus; as much as he loved to bake, he was absolutely horrid at it.

"Hi, Jamie," Regulus greeted happily, setting the table with plates of bacon and eggs. "I made breakfast."

"I heard," I said, taking a wary bite of bacon. Satisfied that it was bacon and not some obscure substitute Regulus accidentally used, I continued eating. "Pretty good."

"Amazing, isn't it," Regulus chuckled. "Bacon and eggs is easier than cookies."

Sirius chose that moment to run in and sit at the table as well, shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth. "Bloody heck, Reg, you _can_ cook!"

"Hey!" Regulus cried indignantly, while I burst out laughing.

"What?" Sirius said. "Those cookies tasted like some sort of potion gone wrong."

"Exactly why they are fabulous weapons against Death Eaters," I said, shooting Sirius a look and patting Regulus on the back. "Padfoot, you're tactless."

"Sorry," Sirius blushed.

"It's fine, Siri," Regulus laughed. "Anyways, did you see the _Prophet_ this morning?"

"No, neither of us have," I replied.

"Some of us don't get up at the crack of dawn," Sirius added. I gave him an incredulous look. "What? I didn't get up as early as him!"

"Yes, but you've woken me _before_ dawn," I pointed out. Sirius turned red. "So what's in the _Prophet_?"

"There was a reporter at the battle," Regulus said. "It's all over the news: Hogwarts Student Murdered."

I paled. "We better tell the others Sirius is okay."

"Wicked!" Sirius declared, obviously having a completely different train of thought. "I can pretend to be a ghost and scare people!"

"Ghosts aren't solid," Regulus said.

"How do you know I'm solid?" Sirius replied, grinning creepily. Regulus pulled out his frying pan and whacked Sirius in the head with it. "Ow!"

"You're solid," I snickered, as Sirius rubbed his head. "Yeah, if I know Lily, she'll be here any minute-"

"James!" As if on cue, Lily came rushing in and engulfed me in a hug, knocking over Sirius. "I just read the news! I can't believe-"

"Oi!" Sirius exclaimed. "Why don't I get a hug? I'm the one that's supposedly dead!"

Lily turned so fast her hair whipped me in the face. "Sirius! But- you- it said-"

"Don't worry, Siri's alive," Regulus said, swinging his frying pan and grinning evilly. "I checked."

"But how?" asked a very baffled Lily. "No one has ever survived Avada Kadavra!"

"It was a different spell," Dad declared, walking in and taking a seat. "Ooh, bacon! Anywho, one of my Unspeakable friends came up with a spell that imitated Avada Kadavra, but didn't actually kill the victim."

"Oh," Lily said. "Well, I'm glad you're okay. Do the others know?"

"JAMES!" I winced as I heard Remus's and Peter's voices from the living room.

"Nope," I replied.

"Ooh!" Sirius grinned, and started towards the door. "Act sad!"

"What?" Regulus asked.

"Let's prank Moony and Wormy," Sirius grinned. "Act sad!"

With that, he ran into the kitchen. I groaned, and put my head down on the desk. "That idiot."

Regulus held back a chuckle and, judging by the thud that followed, followed my lead. "We can just sit like this and laugh; it'll look like we're crying."

Another thud sounded, along with Lily's voice. "Good idea."

"James? Regulus?" Based on the closeness of the voice, Remus and Peter had entered the room. Regulus was giggling silently, and I found myself snickering as well. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," I said, trying to keep the laughter out of my voice.

"Is Sirius really...?" Peter squeaked, leading to another fit of giggles from Regulus and a snort from Lily beside me. I smiled, glad that my face was hidden by my arms, because there was no way to contain my mirth.

"Peter, don't be so tactless," Remus's voice reprimanded. "I'm so sorry, James- I can't believe- what the-"

"G-g-ghost!" Peter squealed, and Regulus and I dissolved once more into laughter.

"Indeed," came Sirius's voice; I could tell he was trying to sound creepy (and failing miserably). "It is I."

"Erm... why do I smell flour?" Remus asked.

"Er..."

"That's me," came Regulus's muffled voice. "I was baking."

I snickered.

"I'm going to haunt Voldemort for killing me!" Sirius declared dramatically. "He will rue the day he shot that curse at me!"

"Darn right he will," I muttered darkly.

Regulus continued laughing quite loudly and quite obviously, and a loud thud sounded (followed by even more laughter). Sirius huffed. "Regulus quit laughing, you're ruining the prank!"

"Sorry, Sirius," Regulus gasped between laughs. "I can't help it."

"_Prank_?" Remus exclaimed. I lifted my head off the table and grinned at him. Regulus was on the ground, still laughing his head off. "What d'you mean, prank?"

Sirius, who was covered in flour, grinned. "Surprise, mate! I'm not dead!"

Remus frowned and crossed his arms; Peter beamed. "That's great, Padfoot!"

"Isn't it?" Sirius replied."And it's wicked! The whole Wizarding world thinks I'm dead! Think of their reactions when I show up on September 1st."

"Chaos," Dad said.

"Yep," I agreed. "That about sums it up."

Regulus snickered. "That about sums our life up."

**A/N: Weird place to end, but the chapter just would not end! Anyways, see? I didn't kill Siri. I just invented a new spell and made the rest of the world think he's dead. XD This story is feeling a bit repetitive, so, don't worry, I'll add some better plot stuff in during fourth year! Okay, big thanks to my reviewers, jeremiah123, Red Moon Lollipop, sk8boards4ever, N. E. Person, Lady Loophole, and Accalia Silvermoon! I guess you guys can have virtual bacon! :D Hope you liked, read and review!**

**I still don't own Harry Potter!**


	35. Chapter 35

Amazingly, the rest of the summer passed without incident. It hadn't taken very long for Mum to allow us to finally just have fun like normal kids, so we spent most of the summer playing Quidditch and whatnot.

September 1st had come at last. Sirius and Regulus were both very eager to go to King's Cross; I had to admit that I was looking forward to people's reactions, as well. Since the most of the rest of the world thought Sirius was dead, his appearance would come as a huge surprise.

"Is everyone ready?" Mum called. "We've got to leave!"

"We're ready!" Regulus yelled.

"C'mon," Sirius grinned. "You're sure I can't pretend to be a ghost?"

"Positive," I replied, dragging my trunk towards the stairs. Inevitably, I tripped over the carpet, lost my grip on my trunk, and tumbled down the stairs, landing face-first at the bottom, groaning.

"Every time!" Sirius laughed, as he and Regulus thundered down the stairs after me. Regulus stopped to help me up. I smiled, walked back up the stairs, and grabbed my trunk, before walking back down, thankfully not tripping.

"Did you fall _again_, James?" Mum sighed.

Dad chuckled. "No surprise. He's only been doing it since he could walk."

I blushed scarlet as Sirius and Regulus dissolved into laughter. "Oh, shut it, you lot."

"Well, hurry up," said Dad. "We're going to miss the train."

"Aren't we Apparating?" I asked.

"These two have never been in a Muggle car before," Dad said, nodding towards the still laughing brothers. "So we're going by car."

"Dad, can you even drive?" I asked.

Dad shrugged and grinned. "Here's hoping."

* * *

As it turned out, Dad could drive, and we made it to King's Cross uninjured, albeit a bit disgruntled, since Dad, though he could drive, was a very, very bad driver.

"Wonder how long it'll take them all to notice me?" Sirius asked.

"If we get on the train now, perhaps they won't," Regulus said. "Then you can make your grand entrance at Hogwarts."

Sirius's eyes lit up. "Brilliant! Let's go, hurry!"

He grabbed both of our arms and dragged us onto the train, finding a compartment quickly, "Okay, so I will wait until everyone's in the Great Hall, and then burst in! Great, huh?"

"You're going to get detention," I replied in a sing-song voice, smiling cheekily.

Sirius shrugged. "So? You'll join me, right?"

"Oh, no!" Regulus said. "I'd rather not get detention on the first day of school."

I nodded in agreement. "It's not worth it."

Sirius pouted briefly, then shrugged. "Oh well. You'll be missing out."

"Nah," said Regulus. "I think we'll be fine."

Just then, the door opened and Sirius, probably wanting to preserve his prank by not giving himself away, dived under the seat. There was no need, as the people who entered were only Lily, Remus, Peter, and Snape. Lily smiled bemusedly at Sirius, who sighed.

"Oh, it's just you," he said, moving to sit between Regulus and I again. Severus's eyes widened, and he stumbled backwards and fell into the seat beside Remus, mouth open. Oh; we'd forgotten to tell him. Sirius laughed. "If that's everyone's reaction, this is gonna be awesome!"

"I think," Snape said slowly. "Someone owes me an explaination."

"Yeah, probably," I agreed. "To make a long story short, my dad found a spell that imitates the Killing Curse without killing the victim. He used it to get Voldie off our back for a while, of course that'll be shot all to pieces the moment Sirius reveals himself."

"Ah," said Snape. "Alright."

We spent the rest of the train ride chatting about nothing in particular. Sirius went on eccentrically about his plans for his prank, and the others all agreed with Regulus and I that there really was no point in getting detention so early. Time seemed to fly, and before I knew it, we were back at Hogwarts.

"I'll stay on the train," Sirius said. "You guys go on ahead."

"Okay," I said, feeling a bit uneasy about leaving Sirius alone, even if we were near Hogwarts. Wasn't the station in Hogsmeade? I already knew Hogsmeade wasn't safe..

"Stop worrying," Lily said softly as we climbed into a carriage. With a jolt, I realized I could see black horses pulling the carriages. "Sirius will be fine."

"I know," I replied, eyeing the horses. "Lils... what are those?"

"What are whats?" Peter asked, twisting in his seat to look at the horses. "I don't see anything."

"The horses," I said. "The ones pulling the carriage."

"There are no horses," Snape said, raising an eyebrow dubiously.

Lily's eyes widened in understanding. "Thestrals. We learned about them in fifth year. You can only see them if you've seen..."

"If you've seen someone die," Remus completed, obviously having read about them before. "That's why James can see them. He was there when... yeah."

Lily wrapped her arms around me. "What do they look like?"

"They're black and really skeletal," I said. "Kind of weird looking, if you ask me."

"Awww, I wanna see," whined Regulus. I gave him a sceptical look.

"Do you really?" I asked. Regulus blinked, then paled and shook his head rapidly. "Thought so."

"McGonagall is going to be so mad at Sirius," Remus said, changing the subject. "No. First she'll be happy to see him, then she'll scream at him and give him detention for the rest of the year for scaring her."

"Yes, that sounds about right," I chuckled. "At least Dad told Dumbledore- I bet he told the other teachers."

"Nah," said Regulus. "Dumbledore enjoys a good prank, and he knows that's exactly what Sirius had planned."

"This is going to be chaos," Lily groaned. "I hope I make prefect again next year; then I can give you lot detentions. Severus, you'd better not join their pranking!"

Snape just smiled innocently, and I was struck by how much he'd changed. I mean, back in the original timeline, we never really became friends. The thought that Snape might join us in pranking was almost absurd- unti now, that is. I could sort of see it now.

"Hey..." Peter said suddenly. "Something's different about you, Snape... did you wash your hair?"

Severus gave Peter an irritated look as Remus and I started snickering. Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. "Peter, that's rude."

"Sorry," Peter blushed.

"He's right," I sniggered. "But I think the difference was that you smiled and tried to look innocent."

"I'm confused," said Regulus.

"Never mind," I said. "Hey, you're a third year this year, right? What classes are you taking?"

"Divination and Care of Magical Creatures," replied Regulus. "Oh! And Muggle Studies."

Lily crinkled her nose. "I dropped that."

The rest of us gaped at her.

"What?" she asked. "Is it so astonishing that I dropped a class? The information was out of date."

"Oh," said Regulus. "Oh well."

"You could still change it," Remus said.

"Nah," Regulus shook his head. "I'll keep it."

"Did any of you read your course books over the summer?" asked Severus. Remus and Lily nodded, and Peter shifted uneasily. Regulus and I exchanged looks.

"No," I said.

"We were too busy worrying over Sirius," added Regulus.

"And playing Quidditch," I added. "And, you know, being kidnapped, rescued, and nearly killed."

"Baking cookies," Regulus said.

"Beating Death Eaters with frying pans," I continued.

"Turning Voldemort green."

"Trying to keep Sirius from escaping St. Mungo's."

"Breaking Sirius out of St. Mungo's."

"Playing-"

"We get it," Remus said dryly. Regulus and I turned red. "So you two didn't, and Peter didn't. You lot had better hope there are no pop quizzes."

Regulus and Peter paled, but I smiled. "I've already been through this once. I have the upper hand."

"Cheater," said Snape.

The mood in the Great Hall was strangely subdued, save for the most of the Slytherins, who were perfectly normal. Even the staff table (which I noticed was strangely missing a seat, probably the DADA teacher) was quiet and melancholy. I could understand; with Sirius's spot empty next to me, I was brutally reminded of how close I'd come to losing him. However, I knew he was coming.

Frank Longbottom sat down beside me with Alice. "Hullo, James. How are you?"

"Hello, James," Alice added. "Aren't the Thestrals pretty?"

"Er... pretty's one word," I said awkwardly. "Can you see them?"

"Oh, no," said Alice.

I stared at her until Frank cut in. "Listen, I heard about Sirius."

Remus coughed, which might have been hiding a laugh.

"Er, yeah," I said awkwardly, as Regulus buried his face in his arms and started giggling, which probably looked like he was sobbing, because a seventh year girl cooed sadly.

"I'm really sorry," he said. "I know you guys were close and-"

Just then, the doors burst open, much to my relief, since the conversation was slowly getting very awkward. The hall went very silent. Sirius was standing there, grinning and covered in mud. Regulus looked up, and dissolved into giggles again.

"You'll never believe how long a walk it is to Hogwarts!" Sirius exclaimed, breaking the silence. Some students continued gaping, a few screamed, and several Slytherins I saw were muttering profanities.

"Zombie!" shouted one student and several purebloods (including Regulus and I) looked at her weirdly.

Lily leaned over to us. "It's the muggle equivalent of Inferi. Dead bodies that have come 'back to life'."

Regulus and I both dissolved into laughter again, gaining weird looks from the people around us. Sirius looked dumbfounded for a moment, before shrugging and walking over to sit next to us. Up at the staff table, Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling, and the rest of the staff's eyes were huge.

"Hullo," Sirius greeted.

"Sirius," I said slowly. "Why are you covered in mud?"

"Effects," replied Sirius. I gave him a sceptical look, and he turned red under the mud. "Okay, so I took a shortcut through the forest and I tripped. A few times."

"Idiot," I said. "Now you're a mess."

"Fits you," Regulus said cheekily. Sirius cuffed him over the head.

"When are you going to explain to everyone how you're not dead?" Remus asked, as the school continued to panic and stare.

"I'm not," Sirius grinned. "How do they know I'm not dead? I bet I look like I crawled out of a grave!"

"Explains the zombie comment," Lily said dryly.

"Alright, quiet down," Dumbledore called. "As you can see, Mr. Black is perfectly well."

"Or am I?" Sirius said loudly. I whacked him in the back of the head. "Ow! Prongs!"

"He's fine," I declared. "It's a long story how, but he's fine."

"And why," McGonagall frowned, "didn't you come in with the rest of the students?"

"A prank, dear Minnie!" Sirius beamed. The entire hall still seemed dumbfounded. "And the Headmaster was in on it, you know!"

"He was?" McGonagall gaped. Several students turned towards Dumbledore, who smiled serenely.

"Actually, I was not 'in on' this prank," he explained. "I simply knew that Mr. Black was alive and neglected to tell you."

McGonagall groaned, and muttered something I couldn't here, but it was probably something along the lines of: "You're just as bad as they are."

* * *

Later that night, we were all getting situated in our new dorm room. Regulus was rooming with us again this year. Last year had been so crazy, and I highly doubted that I had a chance of an easy year this year. Still...

"I hope this year will be quieter than last year," I muttered as I sat down on my bed.

Sirius shrugged. "I dunno; all those near death experiences were kind of fun."

Regulus, Remus, and I stared at him incredulously. Peter shifted in his bed with a snore.

"It's exciting," he continued, oblivious to the three of us gaping at him. "I mean, I could do without getting hurt so often, but the feeling of adventure is great!"

"That roughly translates to: 'Keep an eye on me, I'm contemplating jumping off the Astronomy Tower just for fun,'" Remus said dryly. Sirius blushed, and I wondered if he really was contemplating that.

"Not the Astronomy Tower," Sirius said slowly. I groaned.

"Alright, we're moving your bed away from the window," I said. "Regulus, you and Padfoot switch."

"Kay," said Regulus, grabbing his stuff and dragging it over to the bed that would have been Sirius's if I wasn't so worried that he'd jump out the window. Sirius pouted and moved his things to the bed that had originally been Regulus's.

"We could go skydiving," Sirius suggested. I sighed, and flopped face-first onto my bed. "What?"

"If you get yourself killed," I said, my voice muffled by my pillow. "I'm bringing you back and murdering you myself."

**A/N: And they're back at Hogwarts! Yay! Big thanks to my reviewers, Red Moon Lollipop, jeremiah123, N. E. Person, and sk8boards4ever! I hope everyone like this chapter. I haven't mentioned Thestrals before, have I? If I have, sorry about that! Oh, in case you're wondering about the DADA professor, you'll see next chapter! :D**

**I still, sadly, do not own Harry Potter.**


	36. Chapter 36

"Any clue who the new DADA teacher is?" asked Sirius the next morning. The new professor hadn't shown up yet, and I briefly wondered whether Dumbledore had found one.

"No idea," said Regulus. "I don't have Defence until tomorrow."

"We have it first today," Lily said. "Don't we learn about the Unforgiveables this year, James?"

"Urgh, yeah," I shuddered. "I've had just about enough of those."

"Just about?" Remus asked bemusedly.

"Meh, I haven't dealt with the Imperius yet," I shrugged.

Sirius crinkled his nose. "Well, I've had enough of the Cruciatus to last me a lifetime."

"The professor won't cast that on us," I said. "He might cast the Imperius on us, to see if we can fight it. Shame Williams left."

"He moved to America, didn't he?" Lily asked. "Do you remember who the professor was the first time around."

"Yeah, I think it was some Death Eater who's in Azkaban by now," I replied. "How does Dumbledore not realize this stuff? Didn't we have a Death Eater in first year, too?"

"Don't remind me," Sirius grumbled. "I hated him."

"No, fifth year's was the Death Eater, not fourth," said Lily. "I think- was it the one that got lost in the forest and never came out?"

"Oh, yeah," I chuckled. "He was kind of loony, wasn't he?"

"Who do you think it'll be?" asked Regulus.

"Probably some Auror," I shrugged. "That'd at least be a decent professor."

Peter, who'd been shovelling down food so fast he could speak, suddenly looked up. "Hey! We're going to be late!"

"What?" I asked. "Are we really?"

Peter nodded, and showed me his watch. Sure enough, we were very nearly late.

"You'd better run," Regulus advised. I nodded, and we all (minus Regulus, who had a free period first) shot up and raced out of the Great Hall towards the Defence classroom.

* * *

"Sorry we're late!" Sirius exclaimed as we burst in the door. "We weren't watching the time!"

"I think we can let it slide this time," said a very familiar voice. I looked up and gaped.

"Dad!?" I exclaimed.

"James," Dad replied, smiling bemusedly. "Well, sit down, you lot, and we can get started."

"Right," Lily said, and we all took our usual seats.

"This is gonna be great!" Sirius whispered. "Your dad will let us get away with everything!"

"No, actually, I won't," Dad said, obviously having heard Sirius. Sirius turned red. "Alright. Welcome to Defence. Today, we'll be learning about the Unforgiveable Curses. Who can name me one?"

Several hands shot into the air, including mine and Sirius's.

"Alice," Dad said, nodding towards Alice.

"The Imperius Curse," Alice said. "It gives the caster complete control over their victim."

"Right," Dad smiled. "Alright, I've brought these spiders to show you the spells on. If you get uncomfortable, you certainly don't have to watch."

Dad pointed his wand at the first spider. "_Imperio_."

The spider stiffened, before skittering off the desk and over towards Alice, who strangely patted it, before it ended up tap-dancing around the room. Several students started laughing, and my dad brought the spider back and released the curse.

"You think it's funny?" he asked, no trace of humour in his voice. Sirius, who'd also been laughing, immediately went quiet as Dad's eyes passed over him. "What if I had put the curse on one of you? What if I told one of you to jump off the Astronomy Tower, or murder your best friend."

The entire class had gone pale.

"Not funny, is it?" asked Dad gravely. "The next curse?"

Sirius raised his hand hesitantly. Dad nodded towards him. "Sirius?"

"The- the Cruciatus," Sirius declared. I had to admire his bravery to talk about that specific curse in front of the entire class, considering his personal experience with it. "It causes the victim horrible pain- well, that's an understatement, but it's not very easy to describe, you see."

Dad nodded solemnly. "Yes, you would know. The Cruciatus causes indescribable pain to the victim, as Sirius said. If it causes anyone discomfort, you can look away when I use it on the spider."

A few girls looked away as Dad cast the spell; Sirius and I both flinched, both of us most likely remembering the pain of the curse. Dad lifted the spell after a few seconds.

"The last curse, then?" Dad asked.

I rose my hand. "The Killing Curse, Avada Kadavra. It does exactly what its name implies. In a flash of green, someone's life could be over."

I avoided looking at Sirius. I had been so close to losing him this summer...

"Right," said Dad sombrely. "I don't much want to cast this curse, but I am supposed to show you."

I closed my eyes as Dad whispered the curse, but I could still see the green through my eyelids. That could have been Sirius this summer. That almost had been Sirius.

"Okay," Dad said, and I opened my eyes. "No homework tonight. Class dismissed- er, James and Sirius, stay a moment."

The rest of the class filed out, and Sirius and I walked up to the front of the room.

"How are you?" Dad asked.

"I'm fine," Sirius said. "How 'bout you, Jamie?"

"That could have been you," I whispered. Sirius raised an eyebrow, and Dad nodded in understanding. "This summer. You could've died. If it hadn't of been for Dad's spell, you would've."

"I'll try to keep myself safer this year," Sirius chuckled.

"Carol was the one who insisted that I teach," Dad said. "Because you two and Regulus always seem to get into trouble."

I blushed. "Trouble usually finds us."

"Believe me, I know," Dad snickered, before turning serious again. "Listen, if he doesn't by now, Voldemort will know soon that you, Sirius, are alive. You must be extra careful."

"He won't come after us at Hogwarts," Sirius said unworriedly.

I frowned. "But he might at Hogsmeade."

Sirius frowned as well. "Well... we'll just be on our guard, then."

"I'd suggest not leaving the grounds," Dad said.

"But-" Sirius said. "Moony!"

Dad gave him a weird look.

"I, er, don't know if I've told you yet," I said anxiously. "But, er... Sirius, Peter, and I- and probably Regulus too, soon- are Animagi. Well, Pete's not completely able to transform yet, and Sirius mastered it this summer."

Dad chuckled. "Figures. And what does this have to do with Remus?"

"We... kind of go with him on the full moon?" Sirius said. "Well, James does. I'll be starting this year."

Dad was silent for a moment, and at first, I thought he was going to scold us and forbid us from going. Finally, he spoke, "Alright. Just don't tell your mother."

Sirius and I grinned widely and high-fived.

"Thanks, Dad!" I exclaimed.

"Well, who did you think you got your mischievous side from?" Dad asked, eyes sparkling. "Just be careful. It'll be on my head if you get hurt."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Sirius said.

"Yeah, as long as Sirius keeps his wits about him," I added. Sirius stuck his tongue out at me.

Dad laughed. "Just keep safe, boys."

* * *

The first week or so of school passed quickly and uneventfully. Dad was putting off putting students under the Imperius for as long as he could, so we were studying the other two curses at the moment. Tonight, however, was the full moon.

"You're sure you want to come?" Remus asked anxiously.

Sirius snorted. "Course we do."

"When do I get to come?" Regulus whined.

"When you become an Animagus," I said. "Won't be long now; Dad's getting the potion for you to know your form."

"I can't wait!" Regulus grinned.

"I'm almost ready," Peter said. "I should be able to come next time or the time after that."

"Don't rush," Remus replied. "I don't want you to mess up."

"I've got James helping out," Peter smiled.

"Oi!" Sirius exclaimed. "What about me?"

"Sirius, you're a walking disaster magnet," Regulus snickered. "If something doesn't go wrong tonight, I'll be amazed."

Sirius just stuck out his tongue at his little brother.

After a few minutes, Madam Pomfrey collected Remus. We waited a minute, before putting on the invisibility cloak and slipping outside towards the shack. Thankfully, we got there just before Remus transformed.

Moony greeted us enthusiastically. 'Prongs! Padfoot! Hi!'

'Hullo, Moony,' I replied. 'Do you want to go out today?'

'Oh, can we really?' asked Padfoot eagerly.

'We can keep Moony in line,' I said. 'What do you say, Moony?'

'Okay!' Moony said, wagging his tail. Padfoot nudged the trapdoor open and exited first, quickly followed by Moony, then me. We made our way into the Forbidden Forest, Padfoot and I flanking Moony, who was eagerly taking in his new environment, before he suddenly stopped. 'Human.'

'What?' I said sharply, as Padfoot stopped and sniffed the air.

'He's right,' Padfoot confirmed. 'Several humans- and... urgh, a really repugnant one.'

'Hunt?' asked Moony hopefully.

'Let's get back to the Shack,' I said nervously.

'Wait-' Padfoot said. 'I recognize some of those scents- smells like family- no wonder it was so gross!'

'It's not Regulus, is it?' I asked worriedly.

'No, female,' Padfoot replied shortly. I shuffled uneasily. Unless Andromeda Tonks had decided to take a random walk in the Forbidden Forest, it wasn't someone we wanted to run into.

'Hunt?' Moony repeated, trying to push past us. Padfoot stood in front of him, and I worried Moony would attack him.

'No,' I said forcefully. 'Let's go back.'

'Yeah,' said Padfoot finally. Moony was getting anxious, and I didn't want to take any risks. Padfoot walked towards Moony, nudging him back towards the Shack. Moony growled, and lashed out at Sirius, leaving a long cut glistening in blood down the dog's side. Padfoot yelped in pain, and I walked forward and brandished my antlers towards Moony, herding him back towards the Shack. Moony lashed out again, catching me across the face. I blinked blood out of my eyes, before hearing voices approaching.

"Oh. It's just a bunch of animals," noted one voice. Padfoot was growling, and I was too busy containing Moony to turn and look.

"You dolt!" exclaimed an all too familiar feminine voice. "That's a werewolf!"

'That's Bellatrix,' Padfoot growled.

"Well, stun it, then!" said the male voice.

"You do it!"

"Fine," replied the voice. "_Stupefy_!"

There was a flash of red, and Moony crumpled to the ground unconscious. I whipped around, and narrowed my eyes. Padfoot was snarling at the two Death Eaters. I stepped up beside him.

'Don't attack,' I warned. 'Let's just get out of here.'

'They cursed Moony,' Padfoot barked angrily.

'It was just a Stunner,' I said. 'Let's get out of here.'

"Should I get the other too?" asked the male Death Eater.

'Let's go,' I insisted.

Padfoot was still growling at the Death Eaters. 'No, let's take them down.'

'Sirius, you can't do anything!' I exclaimed. 'You're a _dog_!'

Padfoot ignored me, and tackled Bellatrix to the ground. I shuffled my feet exasperatedly, and walked forward to pull the madly barking Padfoot off of his cousin, who was screaming, before he was hexed.

'Padfoot, you idiot,' I said. 'You're gonna get hurt.'

The other Death Eater shouted a spell that hit Padfoot and sent him flying into a tree. I rushed towards him, nudging him with my nose. He was out. Great.

"Leave the deer," said Bellatrix. "It tried to get the wretched mutt off me. Leave it."

The other Death Eater nodded, and he and Bellatrix fled into the woods.

There was no way I would be able to carry both of them, so I laid down, figuring I might as well wait till morning and whichever woke up first could help me carry the other back.

What was Bellatrix doing in the Forbidden Forest? And there was another Death Eater... and probably more. Could Voldemort be planning something? It would be just our luck, of course... I'd have to tell Dad. What was in the Forest that Voldemort would want? Or was he planning an attack on Hogwarts? Either way, I knew that this year wasn't going to be quiet like I'd hoped.

**A/N: Update! Voldie is planning something, go figure. Oh! I posted an original story on Fictionpress called What is Real Magic, if you want to check it out. Okay, back on subject, big thanks to jeremiah123, Red Moon Lollipop, sk8boards4ever, N.E. Person, and Lady Loophole for reviewing! Prongs plushies for you! Hope you enjoyed.**

**I don't own Harry Potter!**


	37. Chapter 37

Sirius and Remus didn't wake up all night, and by dawn, I was worried I'd have to drag them both back myself. Sirius had changed back into a human after a couple of hours, and by now Remus was human again. Neither of them seemed to have any injuries from the Death Eaters, but Sirius's side was still bleeding through the makeshift bandage I had made of his robe. The lack of response from either of them worried me.

I shook Sirius, trying to wake him. His face twisted into an expression of pain, but he did not otherwise respond. I dropped him as soon I noticed his pain, and started shaking Remus instead.

"Moony," I said. "Wait a second!"

I pulled out my wand. "_Rennerverate._"

Remus shot up suddenly, eyes wide. "What happened?" his eyes found Sirius. "Sirius!"

"There were Death Eaters in the forest last night," I explained. "You tried to get past Sirius and scratched him, but you got Stunned. Then Sirius tackled Bellatrix and the other Death Eater sent him flying into that tree."

"We need to get him to the hospital wing, then," Remus said anxiously. He pulled Sirius towards him, but Sirius gave a little moan of pain. Remus's eyes widened. "Or we could bring Pomfrey to him."

"Why?" I asked, kneeling at Sirius's side and prodding him with my wand.

"Well, it obviously hurts him when we move him," Remus said. "You said he went flying into a tree? I'm worried he could of broken something- we could make it worse by moving him."

I paled. "Oh. Well, you run the fastest and probably know these woods better. Can you go?"

"Yeah," said Remus, before he took off towards Hogwarts. I sat down beside Sirius; he couldn't be really hurt, could he? I know he'd had enough of being hurt.

"Siri," I said, wondering if he could hear me. "You know, if you don't wake up, they might send you to St. Mungo's again. All those potions and Healers and no freedom- you don't want that, do you?"

As if on cue, Sirius stirred slightly and his eyes fluttered open. "Prongs?"

"Oh, thank goodness," I smiled widely. Sirius made to sit up, before giving a cry and falling back to the ground, clutching his chest and breathing raggedly and painfully. "You okay?"

"Fine," Sirius answered through his wince. I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fine, my chest really hurts, happy?"

"Moony's on his way to get Pomfrey," I said, eyeing Sirius with concern as he pulled himself into a sitting position against a tree.

He groaned in exasperation, and possibly pain as well. "Great. More hospital wing."

"I tried to fix your side," I frowned. "You've messed it up again."

Sirius forced a cheeky smile. "That's what I do, Prongsie. You fix me, and I end up messing that up."

"So... how hurt is really hurt?" I asked, knowing his definition of really hurt and mine were completely different. Sirius laughed, then winced again.

"I was over exaggerating," Sirius said, lying through his teeth as far as I could tell.

"Sure," I replied. "We'll let Madam Pomfrey be the judge of that."

"I'm not going back to St. Mungo's," Sirius said stubbornly.

I raised an eyebrow. "Whoever said anything about St. Mungo's?"

Sirius blushed. "No one."

"Do you think you're hurt enough to get stuck back there?" I asked worriedly. Sirius shook his head, grimacing. "You totally sure about that?"

"Yes," Sirius replied persistently. "At any rate, I bet you Pomfrey can fix me up in two minutes and send me on my way."

"Perhaps," I said, frowning towards the woods. "What were Death Eaters doing here?"

"Reckon they're still after me?" Sirius mused.

"I hope not," I muttered. "But it seemed like they were up to something more... sinister."

"And killing me isn't sinister?"

"I'm going to tell Dad," I said. Sirius seemed to agree with me. Suddenly, Sirius head snapped up, like a dog who'd heard something. Straining my ears, I heard voices not too far away.

"...the Dark Lord has tasked me with killing my cousin!"

"Congratulations, Bella."

"Do you really think that we'll find that pool?"

"I heard it's more of a lake, and it's really hard to find."

"The Dark Lord always gets what he wants!"

The voices started to fade, signalling that they were getting farther away from us. Sirius and I exchanged glances.

"That- that..." I muttered some very unfriendly words under my breath.

"Language," Sirius said.

"You're one to talk," I retorted. "She sounded so happy! How could she be so happy about killing you?"

"Doesn't matter," Sirius said stiffly. As much as he hated his cousin, it had to hurt that she would be so excited at the prospect of murdering him. I put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he jerked away, wincing as the sharp motion jarred his injuries. "I'm more interested in what this pool is that Voldemort is after."

"It can't be good," I said. Just then, Remus and Madam Pomfrey came rushing into the clearing.

"Honestly," Madam Pomfrey huffed. "I was told you couldn't be moved without pain!"

"He can't," I said, as Sirius muttered something unintelligible.

"I'm fine," Sirius insisted. "Give me a potion and use some fancy spell and I'll be good as new. I'm _not_ staying in the hospital wing."

Madam Pomfrey sighed, and cast a diagnostic spell on Sirius. "What were you up to last night? Two broken ribs, horrible bruising, broken collar bone, deep laceration..."

I gave Sirius a glare. "You said you were fine."

"He always says that," Remus pointed out.

"I know," I said. "But if I'd known how bad off he was, I wouldn't of let him move."

"I've had worse," Sirius muttered sullenly as Madam Pomfrey conjured a stretcher. "I can walk."

To prove his point, he stood, shakily at first, and started towards Hogwarts as fast as he could. Madam Pomfrey huffed. "I swear that boy has a death wish."

"I'll bet he does," I agreed, and we set off after Sirius.

Sirius managed to stay ahead of us for the walk back to the castle, but when we got to where we had to turn to get to the hospital wing, he turned, instead, in the direction of the Gryffindor common room.

"Mr. Black," said Madam Pomfrey. Sirius paused and glanced back. "The hospital wing is this way."

Sirius made a face. "I'm going to the dorms; I've got class today."

Madam Pomfrey gave an irate sigh. "Mr. Black, I need to heal you."

Sirius paused. "Fine."

* * *

Madam Pomfrey had confined Sirius to the hospital wing for two days at the least, assuming he didn't try to escape again. Did he listen?

No, considering he was walking with me to my Dad's office right now.

"You really should be resting," I fretted. "You'll hurt yourself."

"Nah, I'm fine," Sirius said.

I groaned. "Well, if you get sent to St. Mungo's because you hurt yourself, I'm not helping you."

Sirius did the mature thing and stuck out his tongue at me.

We entered Dad's office, and he looked surprised to see us. "I don't have you today- and, Sirius, aren't you supposed to be in the hospital wing?"

"I hate that place," Sirius said with a shrug. "We've got some bad news."

"Or whatever you want to call it," I added. "There are Death Eaters in the Forbidden Forest, or at least there were last night and this morning. Bellatrix has been tasked with killing Sirius (go figure) and Voldemort is looking for some sort of pool in the Forest."

Dad frowned. "That's troubling. Any reason why you came to me and not Dumbledore?"

"Well, you know about how we're Animagi," Sirius said. "Dumbledore doesn't."

Dad nodded, accepting this answer. "I want you both to be extra careful, especially you, Sirius, since Voldemort wants you dead."

"He probably isn't too fond of me, either," I noted. "After all, I punched him in the face."

Sirius grinned. "I turned him green, and taunted him... multiple times."

Dad rubbed his forehead. "What am I going to do with you? When Carol hears about this-"

"Which she won't," Sirius put in. "She'll murder us, you can't tell her we were in the Forest last night."

"Fine," Dad said. "Sirius, it's time you got back to the hospital wing."

Sirius crossed his fingers behind his back and nodded. I stifled my snickers, knowing that we were both going straight back to the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

"Sirius! Where have you been all day?" Regulus asked as soon as we entered. He grabbed me (I'd entered first) in a bone-crushing hug, before doing the same with Sirius. Sirius gritted his teeth in pain, but managed not to yelp.

"Hi... Regulus," he said in a strained voice that betrayed his pain. Regulus pulled away as if shocked. "What?"

"You're hurt," he said crossly, before displaying his right arm, which was slightly red. I narrowed my eyes. 'You're bleeding."

"I told you you shouldn't have left," I muttered.

"I'm fine," Sirius said, flopping down on the couch with an almost imperceptible wince. "Really. Even if I wasn't, there's no way I'm going back to that place."

"Stubborn git," I said. "I'd hex you into going, but since you're already hurt, I'd rather not make it worse."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at me again.

"How'd you get hurt?" Regulus asked. "Is is bad? What happened?"

"We were with Moony in the forest," I said, glad we were in our dorms and not the common room. "There were Death Eaters out there, they're after something."

"Not- not Sirius, right?" Regulus asked hesitantly.

"Well, yes," I admitted. Regulus whimpered and grabbed his brother in another painful hug. Sirius obviously didn't have the heart to tell Regulus that his hugs were painful. "But something else, too."

"Did you tell Uncle Jacob?" Regulus guessed. I nodded. "Well, he can take care of it. You guys had better be more careful from now on!"

"You sound like Uncle Jacob," Sirius grumbled.

"Better than having one of you killed," Regulus retorted. "Oh! Speaking of that, doesn't Remus have some dittany?"

"He ought to," I said. "We'll ask when he gets back. In the meantime, Sirius, lie down so you don't hurt yourself more."

Sirius muttered something about overprotective time travellers and lied down on his bed.

"So... what did the Death Eaters want?" Regulus asked conversationally.

"They said something about a pool in the forest," I said. "Well, the other said he thought it was a lake. I think... I think..."

A mischievous grin spread across my face, and a sparkle that could only mean trouble appeared in Sirius eyes. We both turned to Regulus.

"Oh, no!" he exclaimed. "Oh, no, no, no! You two are going to go off and do something crazy! There is _no_ way I'm letting you drag me into this!"

* * *

"I can't believe I let you drag me into this," Regulus groaned. Sirius, beside him, snickered. I just smiled wearily. We were back in the forest, trying to find our way to spy on the Death Eaters. "I knew this was a bad idea- both of you had that look on your faces!"

"Relax," Sirius said. "We're under the Cloak."

"Wouldn't it have been easier to look in the library?" Regulus continued.

"I thought you liked this kind of stuff, Reg?" I said.

"I like adventures," Regulus replied. "This is a suicide mission!"

"And fighting Death Eaters with a frying pan isn't?" Sirius retorted.

Regulus flushed. "My frying pan is a perfectly good weapon! It's worked, hasn't it? I'm the only one of us who hasn't been in St. Mungo's once."

"Yeah, and you're bloody lucky," I snickered. "Listen, Sirius and I made a plan-"

"We're all gonna die!" Regulus moaned.

"It's a good plan!" I argued.

"Sirius was in on it!" Regulus said. "Both of you were in on it! It's a recipe for disaster- and trust me when I say I know a recipe for disaster when I see one."

"You, kitchen, ingredients," Sirius muttered to me. Regulus, who'd heard him, whacked him on the head with his frying pan. "Ow! Regulus!"

Regulus stuck out his tongue.

"Okay, so you guys know the plan?" I asked.

"No!" Regulus said. "And I'm not sure I want to!"

"It's a good plan," I insisted. "Okay, once we find their base-"

"-we'll camp out in the bushes and listen," Sirius continued. "If we hear anything important, we commit it to memory, and then, when we've heard enough, we get back to Hogwarts-"

"-and then we'll ask Dad," I added. "If he doesn't know, we'll check the library. Then we'll do all we can to prevent the Death Eaters from finding this pool thingamajig."

"So..." Regulus said slowly. "You want to somehow find the Death Eater base and hide in the bushes, hoping they won't hear the rustling of the bushes, and try to remember anything important which they might not say. And then you want us to find out exactly what they want and _get in their way_?"

"Well, when you put it like that..." Sirius said.

"Aren't you supposed to be the optimistic one?" I asked. Regulus shrugged. Suddenly, Sirius stuck out his arm and stopped us.

"Look," he hissed, nodding forward. There, beyond a few trees and bushes, were several tents, and several Death Eaters. "We're here."

**A/N: Hiya! Sort of cliffhanger, you can tell I'm in a mood cause Siri is hurt. :P Oh well, not that bad, he's all healed up now. Big thanks to my awesome reviewers, jeremiah123, sk8boards4ever, and N. E. Person! Free DVD recordings of the imagined movie for this! XD Hope you enjoyed!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**


	38. Chapter 38

I was beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea. The bushes were rustling ominously, and I was worried that the Death Eaters would hear us. They hadn't yet, thank goodness. But it was only a matter of time before they did...

Regulus tugged nervously on my sleeve, and nodded towards something. I glanced in the direction he was nodding, and paled. Voldemort was pacing in the camp, red eyes gleaming. If he saw Sirius... I nudged Sirius, who nearly gave a shout of surprise at seeing Voldemort, but I covered his mouth with my hand. A couple of Death Eaters glanced our way, before shrugging and turning away, obviously thinking they had been hearing things.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Regulus hissed. "We're all gonna get killed!"

"Shh!" Sirius hissed back. "They'll hear us!"

"We've gotta get out of here," I muttered. "If Voldemort sees you, Sirius-"

"We've still gotta figure out what they're after," Sirius replied. "_If_ Voldemort sees me, we'll scram. But he won't."

"Shh, they're talking," Regulus said.

"Milord," said Bellatrix, kneeling before Voldemort. My crinkled my nose in disgust, and I could see that Sirius and Regulus had similar expressions. "We have not yet found what you seek."

"Must she be so cryptic?" Sirius grumbled.

"Search harder," ordered Voldemort. "And the Black boy?"

Regulus and I both looked at Sirius, who shrugged, obviously unperturbed by Voldemort's interest in him. I didn't understand it... if Voldemort wanted me dead, I'd be pretty scared. In fact, the fact that he wanted _Sirius_ dead scared me a lot more than if he'd wanted me dead. Regulus seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"I haven't seen him, milord," said Bellatrix. "But rest assure, I will kill him at first chance."

"No," said Voldemort. "I think I've changed my mind."

"Again?" grunted a Death Eater. Voldemort's eyes flashed, and, with a flash of red light, the Death Eater was writhing on the ground, screaming. The Cruciatus. I almost, _almost_ felt bad for the Death Eater. Almost.

"Think before you speak," growled Voldemort. "At any rate, you will bring him to me. He is stubborn, and that could be a good quality. He would do well in our ranks."

Sirius paled, obviously unhappy with the idea of Voldemort trying to recruit him.

"But, milord," piped in a Death Eater who I recognised as Lucius Malfoy. "Sirius Black would never join our ranks."

"Darn right I wouldn't," muttered Sirius furiously.

"Think of it this way," I said. "If he wants to recruit you, he won't hurt you."

"I can break him," said Voldemort, and my optimistic hopes were crushed. "You'll see; there's only so much torture a person can take before they bend to my will-"

"Or die," Bellatrix pointed out. I cringed, grabbing Sirius's arm.

"Or die," Voldemort agreed. "In the meantime, we must find the Heart."

"The what?" Regulus whispered.

"Milord," said a random Death Eater. "How do we know it's even real?"

"It is," Voldemort said. "You'll see. I will take any measure to become completely immortal."

Regulus, Sirius, and I exchanged nervous glances.

"We've heard enough," I decided, and we started to leave.

"I think," said Voldemort, and we froze, "we should welcome our unwelcome guests."

I cursed under my breath as a spell came from one of the Death Eaters and hit Regulus, who gave a surprised shout and crumpled forward. I caught him before he hit the ground.

"Regulus!" Sirius exclaimed, distressed and angry, turning to stalk up to the Death Eaters.

"He's just stunned," I said quietly, but Sirius edged his way out of the cloak to stand defiantly in front of the Death Eaters. "Sirius!"

Voldemort's lips twisted into a smile. "Sirius Black. Just the person I wanted to see."

"Too bad, if I'd never seen you again it would have been too soon," Sirius replied. There was nothing I could do while holding an unconscious Regulus, and I hardly wanted to leave him, but Sirius was going to get himself killed if he wasn't careful. Making up my mind, I placed Regulus carefully onto the leafy ground, and threw the cloak off, arranging it so it hid Regulus.

"If you don't mind," I said. "We'll be leaving."

"But I do mind," replied Voldemort, and he sent a nasty curse flying towards Sirius. Acting without thinking, I ran in front of Sirius. I fell to the ground screaming; purple flames danced across my chest where the spell had hit. Sirius shouted angrily, and used _aguamenti_ to put out the flames, leaving me panting painfully. I hazarded a glance at my torso; a long strip of my shirt had been burnt to ashes and my chest was burnt badly. It hurt like heck, but I was glad it was me and not Sirius.

"Brave," noted Voldemort calmly as Sirius seethed.

"You- you-" Sirius evidently couldn't find the words to describe Voldemort, and settled instead for rushing forward and punching him in the face. I groaned exasperatedly.

"Sirius," I called, though it made my chest ache horribly. "Stop it!"

"He's hurt both of you now!" Sirius exclaimed, gesturing towards me and Regulus (whom he couldn't see and, quite frankly, neither could I). "I can't let him get away with this!"

Voldemort laughed. "Is that so? You, Black, should know more than anyone what I can do. Didn't you like my delayed curses?"

"I'm not scared of you," said Sirius defiantly.

"You should be," Bellatrix hissed. "Stupid cousin. _Crucio!_"

Sirius gritted his teeth and glared. It still amazed me that he could take that curse without screaming.

I pulled myself to my feet. "We're leaving."

"You're not," said Voldemort.

I narrowed my eyes, and inspiration struck me. "HELP! HELP! IN THE FOREST! VOLDEMORT!"

Voldemort and the Death Eaters looked startled. I held up my wand and shot red sparks in the air, as many as I could. Someone would hear us, I was sure. "QUICKLY! QUICKLY! HE'S GOING TO KILL US! COME QU-"

A sudden spell hit me in the side, and I toppled to the ground with a shout of pain. My hands found my side, and I gave a hiss of pain, pulling away to see glistening red blood.

"James, shut up!" Sirius said. "You're making him mad."

"And you aren't?" I retorted painfully.

"Let's finish this," said Voldemort, pointing his wand at Sirius. A blast of purple light hit Sirius in the chest, and Sirius flew backwards, landing heavily beside me, just as thundering footsteps reached us, along with a few softer ones.

"_Expelliamus_!" said a loud voice. I didn't look up, eyes focused on Sirius. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his breathing was laboured, but I couldn't see any external injuries.

"James! Sirius!" a feminine voice cried. Moments later, Lily knelt down beside us. "Are you okay?"

"Where's Regulus?" Dad boomed, holding several wands. He had apparently caught the Death Eaters by surprise. I nodded my head towards the general area I'd left him. Dad rushed over and pulled off the cloak.

"Yeh lousy snakes!" roared Hagrid, who had come as well. "What d'yeh want in the Forest?"

"None of your business," Voldemort said stiffly, wandless and very, very angry.

"Yeh'll get out if yeh know what's good for yeh!" Hagrid growled. "Dumbledore's gonna stop yeh!"

Voldemort narrowed his eyes and held out his hand. Amazingly, his wand shot out of Dad's hand and back into his. The other wands clattered to the ground. Dad frowned deeply, and gathered me in his arms, quickly conjuring bandages around my bleeding side. Hagrid grabbed Sirius in one arm and Regulus in the other. Lily hovered worriedly beside us, and Dad beckoned her to hold onto his arm. Hagrid pulled out something I recognized as a Portkey. Dad grabbed it as well, and moments later we disappeared and reappeared in St. Mungo's.

Sirius forced his eyes open, looking around. "Not here! Not again! I'm fine!"

But his voice was strained and he seemed to be having trouble breathing. My chest was burning horribly, and my side was bursting with pain. To be honest, I felt a lot better at St. Mungo's. But there was something more important than healing...

"Dad," I said. "Dad, we found out more about what he's after."

Dad looked at me. "That can wait. You three need healing."

"Mum's gonna kill us," I groaned.

"James," Lily said. "What were you even doing in the forest?"

"Trying to figure out what Voldemort-" anyone near enough to hear me gasped dramatically- "is after."

"Oh," said Lily. "Jamie, love, I want you to be more careful- and less adventures! I miss spending time with you."

I smiled at her. "Alright; tell you what, first Hogsmeade weekend, we'll go together, kay?"

Lily beamed, just as my mum entered the room. She hadn't noticed us yet... until Dad cleared his throat. She turned to face, and her face turned pale, before it quickly turned bright red in anger. I gulped. Here comes the yelling.

"JAMES CHARLUS POTTER! SIRIUS ORION BLACK! REGULUS ARTURUS BLACK!" she screeched.

"Erm, Carol," Dad said. "Regulus is unconscious."

Mum paused, then resumed shouting, leaving Regulus out. "WHAT DID YOU TWO DO THIS TIME!? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!? YOU'RE HURT! YOU COULD'VE GOTTEN YOURSELF KILLED, WITH THE MAGNITUDE OF THESE INJURIES! AND, JACOB-"

Dad paled.

"-YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO WATCH THEM! I SWEAR, YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS THE BOYS-"

"Mum," I said. "Heal now, yell later."

Mum softened. "Right. Bring them to the Spell Damage Ward, room 216. And- hmm, it looks like Regulus is just stunned."

She brandished her wand. "_Rennerverate_."

"Huh? What?" Regulus shot up, looking around. His eyes landed on me, bleeding and burnt. "James!" he then saw Sirius, who seemed to be unconscious and was very pale. "Sirius!"

"Be glad you were stunned," I said, chuckling wryly.

"I told you it was a bad idea!" Regulus groaned. "I told you, but did you listen!?"

Mum gave Regulus an appraising look as Hagrid put him down. "You can stay or go back to Hogwarts. But you can't come back with James and Sirius."

Regulus pouted. "Are you sure?"

"They'll be okay," Mum said. "You too, Lily."

Lily nodded, and put an arm around Regulus's shoulder, guiding him towards the fireplace. She turned back to me just after Regulus went through. "Don't forget your promise, mister!"

"No worries, I won't," I smiled back, winking.

Lily laughed. "That'd be so much more attractive if you weren't covered in blood and burns."

"Battle scars," I replied arrogantly. Lily shook her head fondly, and stepped through as well, disappearing in a burst of green flames.

Dad and Hagrid carried Sirius and I to the room Mum led us to. There were two beds, and Sirius and I were both situated in separate ones. They left the room. Mum immediately got to work, diagnosing both of us.

"Ah," she said furtively, frowning deeply. "James, I should probably work on Sirius first-"

"Go right ahead," I said, despite the ache in my chest and side. From Mum's tone, it sounded like Sirius needed more health. I leaned back into my pillow.

What was this Heart Voldemort wanted? It must be some sort of pool in the forest, and it must have something to do with immortality- why would Voldemort want to be immortal? Immortality sounded pretty dull to me. Imagine: all my friends and family would die and I'd still be stuck here, never to see them again.

My side was hurting horribly, but Mum and now a team of Healers were working on Sirius and I really didn't want to disturb them. I was rather light-headed, and the room seemed to be fading in and out of focus. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in my chest and I let out a shout. Mum and a couple of Healers turned to look at me, Mum's face full of fear and worry. The room seemed to spin, and my world went black.

**A/N: Oh no! What's happened to James? Sirius? Will they be okay? What **_**does**_** Voldemort want? Why am I asking you all these questions when I already know the answers? You'll just have to wait and see- except for that last one, even I don't know the answer to that. :P Big thanks to my reviewers, Jeremiah123, N. E. Person, Red Moon Lollipop, sk8boards4ever, and potterhead934! A cute Lily/James drawing done by yours truly for you (er... imagine it, I'm not**_** that**_** great... XD)! Hope you enjoyed!**

**I still don't own Harry Potter.**


	39. Chapter 39

"James."

Poke.

"James."

Poke.

"James."

Poke.

"Ja-"

"Will you stop that!" I exclaimed, shooting upwards, before falling back with a groan of pain to glare at Regulus, who was grinning at me.

"Good morning," he greeted.

"Morning," I said, looking around the room. I could not see Sirius anywhere. "Where's Sirius?"

"They separated you," Regulus said. "I don't know where Sirius's room is. I snuck in, and I already knew your room."

"And you thought it smart to poke me awake?" I asked irritably. Regulus shrugged. "Urgh, my chest hurts like heck..."

"Apparently there was a delayed curse on you," Regulus said anxiously. "Aunt Carol told me; you had a bunch of bad burns and a really bad cut, and Sirius had some internal damage, and neither of you are out of the woods yet."

"I'd bet my broomstick she made it sound a lot better than it really is," I said darkly. "Sirius couldn't breath when we got here, remember? And the last thing I remember is a sharp pain on my chest and a scared look on Mum's face."

Regulus frowned. "Oh. Well, you're all right now, right?"

I shrugged. "My chest still hurts."

"Do you reckon Sirius is okay?" Regulus asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "I sure hope so."

Just then, the door open, and Regulus threw my invisibility cloak over his head, just as Mum walked in. "James! You're awake!"

"Yep," I said. "How's Sirius?"

"He's not awake yet," Mum said, but that made sense. The only reason I was awake was because of Regulus. "We didn't expect you to be either. You had some really bad burns... I'm afraid they'll scar."

"Oh," was all I said.

"You'll both be fine," Mum smiled. "I'm worried there might be more delayed curses on both of you."

"Sirius had a delayed curse on him?" I asked in horror.

"No," Mum replied reassuringly. "He hasn't yet, but I want to be sure. After that one nasty curse..."

Mum trailed off, leaving the rest to my imagination.

"Why was he having trouble breathing?" I asked worriedly.

"He had some internal damage," Mum replied cautiously. "We've fixed that, though."

"Why did you separate us?" I asked.

Mum pursed her lips and did not respond for a moment. "We didn't want either of you to wake up while we were treating the other."

Cryptic, but I could understand that whatever they had to do to treat Sirius and I wasn't something I wanted to see. "Can he come back?"

"Well," Mum said slowly. "I suppose he could, but I must warn you, you both look pretty bad."

"Sirius too?" I frowned. "He looked rather alright when we brought him in. Is he hurt?"

"Not particularly, but he's a bit paler than you're used to," she said. I was about to retort that I could handle that perfectly well, but she continued, "and, we're not sure why, but he sometimes... er... screams in his sleep."

I paled. "Do you reckon he's having nightmares? I mean, I used to scream in my sleep all the time after Sirius..."

My voice died in my throat, but Mum seemed to understand.

"Perhaps, though, about what, I'm not sure," she replied. "Perhaps having someone familiar with him at all times will help."

She gave me a quick smile and left the room. Regulus threw off the cloak, his face worried and slightly confused. "I wonder what's wrong with Sirius..."

"Sounds like nightmares to me," I said. "Wish I knew what they were about- perhaps he _is_ scared that Voldemort wants to kill him. My nightmares have finally gone away- but knowing my luck, something will happen that'll bring them back full force."

Regulus looked awkward for a moment. "So... I looked up that Heart thing."

"And?" I asked eagerly.

"And I found something!" Regulus said triumphantly, pulling an old book out of his backpack and handing it to me. He flipped to a page. "Look, read here!"

_The forest near Hogwarts (known as the Forbidden Forest) is said to hold an ancient lake, known as the Heart of the Forest. Legend states that the lake can heal any wound, cure any sickness, and prevent death. No one has ever found the Heart, and it is said that those who do never return._

_The rest of the legend states-_

The page was torn, and whatever the legend stated was gone along with half the page. I frowned and closed the book. "Good job, Reg. This gives us some information... too bad the page is torn."

"Someone must have torn it out," Regulus said. "I'd bet that it was a Death Eater."

"Probably," I agreed. Just then the door started to open again, and Regulus hid once more. I glanced at the book, before shoving it under my pillow, trying to look innocent and nonchalant.

Mum walked in, carrying Sirius in her arms. She set him down on the bed, and he looked like he was just sleeping. Mum gave me a quick smile, before leaving the room. Regulus took off the cloak and walked over to Sirius.

"Sirius."

Regulus poked him.

"Sirius."

Poke.

"Sirius."

I snickered as Regulus poked his brother again. Finally, after several more pokes, Sirius shot up, whacking Regulus in the face.

"Ow!" Regulus exclaimed.

Sirius looked around. "Sorry, Reg. What happened? Where are we?"

"We're in St. Mungo's," I replied. Sirius groaned.

"That's great," he muttered. "You guys, I just had the weirdest dream."

"A nightmare?" I guessed.

"Kind of," Sirius frowned, leaning backwards. "I was in the Forbidden Forest and there was this lake- really weird looking, actually. It was kind of sparkly and it sort of glowed- and it was the bluest colour I've ever seen. And there were all sorts of animals I'd never seen before!"

Regulus and I exchanged bewildered looks.

"And then," continued Sirius. "One of the animals turned to me, and, you won't believe it, but it spoke. It said, 'Welcome to the Heart of the Forest; come find us.' And then... I woke up."

"Sirius," I said slowly. "I don't think that was just a dream."

* * *

It was a few days since we'd been sent to St. Mungo's, and we were both back in school. Sirius's dream kind of unnerved me. He'd never heard of the Heart of the Forest, other than the tiny hint the Death Eaters had dropped. So, the first day back to Dad's class, we stayed after class.

"What's the matter?" Dad asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, for starters, we know what Voldemort wants," I said. Dad perked up, looking very interested. "Something called the Heart of the Forest."

"That's a legend!" Dad exclaimed.

"Well, that's what he wants," I frowned. "More importantly, Sirius has seen it."

Dad turned to gape at Sirius.

"In a dream," Sirius clarified. "It was really weird, but seeing as I was told specifically in the dream that it was the Heart of the Forest, I know that's where I was."

"You saw the Heart of the Forest in a dream?" Dad repeated dubiously.

"Yep," Sirius replied. "James said he didn't think it was a dream, though."

"Well, it could have been a vision of sorts," said Dad. "Has anything like this happened before?"

"Well," Sirius answered slowly. "I had a few weird dreams before it, but mostly they were foggy and it was always really dark. And sometimes there would be weird flashes of lights and stuff and screaming."

Dad frowned deeply. "That's troubling- if you _are_ having visions, those could be some really bad omens."

"But I'm not, right?" asked Sirius, and, for once, he looked a bit nervous.

"I wouldn't be able to tell you," Dad said heavily. "But if you are, it's troubling. Do me a favour- start keeping a dream log, and see if anything comes true, or if anything connects."

Sirius nodded slowly. "Alright."

"It's not bad, is it?" I asked. "I mean, it won't hurt him, right?"

"I don't know much about these things," Dad replied. "I'd suggest you ask Professor Presagio, the Divination professor."

"Divination?" Sirius asked. "Remus says Divination is a bit woolly."

"It can be," agreed Dad. "But if anyone will know about visions and premonitions, it's Presagio."

"Gotcha," said Sirius, nodding. "Should we go see him, then?"

"Her," Dad corrected. Sirius blushed.

"Her," he repeated, smiling sheepishly.

"Later," I said. "I've got to prepare for my date with Lily."

Sirius laughed loudly and Dad grinned teasingly. I blushed. "What? She insisted."

* * *

"It's a beautiful day," Lily beamed. We were walking in Hogsmeade, hands entwined. I didn't have to worry about Sirius barging in and bothering us; I'd convinced him to stay back and talk to Presagio. Remus and Peter were keeping Regulus distracted, so Lily and I had the day all to ourselves.

"Where do you want to go first?" I asked. Lily looked around. "Not Madam Puddifoot's, I hope."

"No," Lily laughed. "That place is too frilly."

"Agreed," I chuckled.

We walked in amiable silence for a bit. Soon we found ourselves near a calm pond, and we both sat down by it. Lily giggled as a duck swam over to us and tilted its head.

"You seem stressed," Lily noted. "What's the matter? Things are going pretty well, I think."

"Voldemort is up to something again," I replied. "Add that to the fact he seems dead set on killing Sirius, and the fact that Sirius is getting weird vision dreams that we can't explain... well, I'm just worried."

"I understand," said Lily softly, leaning into me and resting her head on my shoulder. "Things will be okay, you'll see. You've done a pretty good job protecting Sirius so far. It's mostly his own fault that he keeps getting hurt- I kind of wonder how smart that boy actually is."

I laughed. "Oh, he's smart. He's just got absolutely no sense of self-preservation."

"Which undoubtedly drives you mad," Lily teased, poking me in the chest. "I'm sure he's got sense enough not to get himself killed; if not for himself, for you and Regulus."

"Here's hoping," I replied.

"Has Sirius had any more visions since the last one?" Lily asked.

"If he has, he hasn't told me," I answered, frowning pensively. "We're not even sure it was a vision. It could just be coincidence. Either way, I'm sure the Divination professor will figure it out."

"Urgh, she's batty!" Lily shuddered. "I took her the first time around in third year, but I dropped her- believe me, I dropped her as soon as I could this time."

"I couldn't believe you dropped a class last time," I snickered. "Remember: you said you thought you broke me!"

"I seriously thought I did," Lily nodded, eyes sparkling. "You were just standing there with your mouth hanging often- I think Sirius gave you a bruise on your arm from poking you."

"I think Regulus did a couple of days ago," I grumbled good-naturedly. Lily smiled bemusedly. "He poked me awake at the hospital."

"That boy," she chuckled. "He's such a sweetie."

"He's never hit you with his frying pan," I replied. Lily laughed lightly.

"I miss spending time with you like this," she said. "You're always with Sirius and Regulus."

"I suppose I'll have to set aside more time for you," I smiled. "And Remus and Peter and Snape. Maybe we can all sneak out-"

"Oh, no," said Lily. "You are not sneaking out, and you are not dragging Severus and I into your mischief."

"You'd have fun," I said in a sing-song voice. "Think of the pranks we could play if we had your genius and Severus's potion making skills!"

"Do _not_ try to convince Severus to join your little group!"

"Why ever not?" I asked innocently. "We won't blow up the school."

"Well, there's that, at least," said Lily.

"On purpose," I added. Lily groaned.

"My boyfriend is crazy," she muttered. "I think I like you better when you didn't prank."

"Ah, but then I was all messed up and depressed and missing Sirius all the time," I pointed out cheekily. "You should like me better _now_ because I smile more!"

"Hmm... I do like your smile," Lily replied, leaning up and giving me a kiss on the lips. "Much more attractive than your frown."

"You're beautiful even when you're angry," I replied, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. She turned red. "Ah, Lilyflower, we've been together for around four years now, and you still blush!"

This just made her turn even redder.

"You still stutter when someone brings up the idea of _children_," Lily retorted. My face heated up.

"Well, we're fourteen! Of course I stutter," I stammered back.

Lily laughed. "You see what I mean?"

"Yeah, yeah," I said.

We sat silently for a moment, Lily feeding the ducks little pieces of bread. I rested my head on Lily's, breathing in the fresh scent of apple shampoo in her hair.

"I love you, Lils," I murmured.

Lily smiled. "I love you too."

**A/N: And on that fluffy note, this chapter comes to an end! I hope you thought it'd be fun. It's better than hurting him, at least!And now you know about the Heart of the Forest; hope it isn't too cliché or stupid. Big thanks to my awesome reviewers: Red Moon Lollipop, jeremiah123, sk8boards4ever, Lady Loophole, and guest! Don't know if you'd care, but a fake copy of that book Reg found is in order! Enjoy (you come up with the stuff in it!).**

**I still don't own Harry Potter.**


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